


Hiccup Found

by hiccupfound



Series: Hiccup Found Universe [2]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Eventual sexy times will be held, F/M, It’s like 7 years after the outbreak?, Post-Apocalypse, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2019-11-29 02:45:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 50,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18217133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiccupfound/pseuds/hiccupfound
Summary: Zombie apocalypse AU. Astrid is the leader of a nearby township that she built from the ground-up. She has made it her mission to save everyone who passes by  from the outside world. When she goes to save a man with auburn hair and a serious head injury, she's unprepared for how he will change her life.





	1. Auburn Hair

**Author's Note:**

> Hey friends! I've rlly wanted to do a zombie AU for these crazy kids bc I really feel like they would thrive n a post-apocalyptic world?? Idk but I had so much fun writing this first chapter so I hope u like it!!  
> Also find me on tumblr as hiccupfound

“Can you see him?” The comms unit came to life in Astrid’s ear. 

She squinted, trying to peer through the dust that the zombies had stirred up. 

“No good. Which way should I go from here?” The unit was silent for a moment, with only the faint buzzing sound to let her know that they were still connected. Astrid continued running in a straight line, only diverting when a tree was in her path.

“Take a right when you reach the opening of the field. Stay alert, the herd is pretty large.” 

Astrid continued running at a steady pace, eager to reach the man but not wanting to wind herself preemptively. When the field came into view she could see it was a large circle, with trees heavily lining the opening. She swung towards the right and halted. Up ahead about 200 feet, Astrid could see the backs of a large group of walkers slowly shambling towards their target. 

“I see the zombs, but I’m at the back of the pack.” Astrid started calculating the fastest route to the front, where the man they were both hunting would inevitably be. 

“Once you’re back in the tree line, scale up one. The fastest way is directly through the herd and those trees are close enough that you can travel through them.” Ruffnut sounded confident in her ability, but Astrid wasn’t so sure. When was the last time she scaled a tree? Surely not since getting the settlement fenced properly. There was not point in hiding in trees when the ground had been deemed safe once again. 

Regardless, she put her trust in her comms team and climbed up, looking for a sturdy branch that would allow her to propel herself to the next tree. When she reached a trustworthy limb, she looked around. The area was thick with greenery, nearly blocking her view from the pack that was swarming underneath her. If not for the moans of the undead, she might have been able to pretend they weren’t there. 

A scream broke her thoughts. She launched herself forward to the next tree, praying it would be strong enough for her landing. The branch groaned in protest, but didn’t break. Astrid continued forward, following the sounds of a terrified, nasally voice. Was he talking to the beasts? Astrid thought to herself. 

“Listen guys, I really wouldn’t be a good snack. Do you see me? I’m a walking fishbone.” The voice grew louder as her pace picked up and she became faster than the pack. 

“I can see him!” She exclaimed into her earpiece. She launched forward onto the last branch until she was directly above him. 

She glanced below, laying eyes on the man she had been stalking for the first time. He was indeed a thin man, and the logic behind his earlier statement now seemed to make sense. Too bad the walkers had no mind to change.

While she was observing, the man fell to the ground, his back hitting the dirt with a loud thud. She the noticed he was holding a hand firmly to his temple. When he pulled it away she could see the scarlet dripping from his fingers. 

“He’s injured. It doesn’t look good.” Astrid then made her way down the tree, landing directly between the man and the pack of zombies that were getting dangerously close to him. 

“Bring him back. I’ll send the guys out to meet you and alert the medical unit.” She could hear Ruff shuffling papers on the other side and then the sound of her booming voice as she yelled to the other parts of their team. 

She looked down at him for the first time since she reached the ground. His eyes met hers and she could sense his confusion and fear. He had a glazed look, emphasizing the fact that he was in dire need of medical attention. Astrid decided pleasantries could wait until later and shoved her arm under his shoulders, effectively yanking him to his feet. She started running in the opposite direction of the walkers, the man beside her moving his feet to the best of his ability. Her shoulder was becoming soaked in blood as it dropped from his temple to his chin.

Becoming increasingly worried about the amount of blood he was losing, Astrid picked up the pace. They were making a decent lead in front of the undead when she heard the first growl behind her head. 

She froze in her tracks, afraid to turn around and face whatever beast could make that noise. 

“He’s with me, it’s okay.” She turned to look at the man, whose words were so badly slurred she had to take a second to process them. 

“He’s scaring off the zombies for us.” He murmured. 

Astrid gave him a side glance, but continued forward. There would be time to discuss all this later, she reminded herself.

Astrid continued forward for a few minutes longer, and then made a sharp left. She needed to head back the opposite direction, but with the injured person she was dragging she couldn’t use the trees again. She decided she would head this way for a little while longer and would then make another left. She just hoped this would leave enough room between themselves and the zombs. 

They travelled together in complete silence. Astrid was bearing most of his weight, and she was thankful for all the training that came with post-apocalyptic living. But she couldn’t help it when she inevitably began to slow down, her breathing uneven and her heartbeat roaring in her ears. She chanced a glance at the man and was horrified to see he was barely conscious. Under his auburn hair she could see a large gash that seemed to be the source of the bleeding. Her throat suddenly felt tight and she tried to swallow down the thickness. 

“I don’t know if he’s going to make it.” She spoke into her comms unit for the first time in over an hour. She tried her best to hide the panic in her voice, but the thought of another person dying in her arms was almost too much to handle. 

“You’re almost caught up with the team, with the extra hands they’ll be able to carry him back faster. He’ll make it, Astrid.” Ruff sounded confident in her ears, and she found herself nodding along. She continued forward until she could see looming shadows of people cast by the sun in front of her. The boys. 

“Astrid!” Eret hollered, waving at her like they were meeting at the mall for chili fries and not in the middle of outrunning a herd of walkers.

She huffed in response, eager to be able to relieve herself of the extra weight so she could catch her breath. 

Snotlout reached her first, taking the other side of the now completely unconscious man and nodding at her to let go of him.

“Here babe, let me get this for you.” Snotlout gave her a wink and a smile. 

Astrid groaned in return, allowing her arm to drop to her side and feeling the blood return to her fingertips. Eret came up and grabbed the side Astrid previously held and then they were all running towards the settlement.

After another hour of travel she saw the fence of her home come into view. The gate was lifted quickly and Fishlegs was there to greet them when they passed through. He quickly directed Eret and Snotlout to the nearest medical building and instructed the boys to set the man on the free cot in the corner. 

“How long has he been unconscious?” Fishlegs looked between the three of them. 

“Over an hour. He has a head injury there on the left.” Astrid stated, moving towards the pail full of water to wash up so she could assist Fishlegs with keeping the stranger alive. 

“Should we be worried about that giant group of walkers that was following him?” Snotlout asked, peaking out of the window. 

“They were moving at a slow but steady pace. We should be okay for a few hours at least, but it wouldn’t hurt to send Tuff and Ruff out to do some recon.” Astrid stated, pulling her hair into a tight bun on the top of her head. 

“You can call it “recon” all you want but it would be more accurate to just say “set off an explosion about two miles from here to change the direction of the zombies.”” Eret deadpanned. 

Astrid shrugged, “Recon is faster. Now go get the twins, will you?”

The door creaked as it was swung open. “There’s a problem.” A hesitant Heather peered in as the boys left. Her green eyes were filled with uncertainty.

Astrid straightened and turned towards the girl. “What’s going on?”

“A dog.. I think. It’s huge, bigger than any I’ve ever seen. He showed up not long after you guys, and he’s just waiting outside the gate.” Heather’s hands were playing nervously with the ends of her black braid. 

Astrid gaped at her. A dog? What in the name of the Gods… “Wait, I think he’s with the guy!” Astrid exclaimed, remembering back to the terrifying growl from earlier that day, and the man’s statement. “He’s scaring off the zombies for us.” 

“Let him in. I think he could be useful.” Astrid turned to look at the stranger, who was having his head wrapped up by a doting Fishlegs. 

“Yeah, okay that sounds like a great idea. No seriously, what should I do?” Heather’s fear turned to laughter, and then to uncertainty as she realized Astrid was serious. 

“That’s crazy, he could come in and totally destroy the township, and therefore everything you have worked to build up.” Heather glanced down at the man for the first time. She grimaced at the sight of the blood, but did not look away. That was one of Astrid’s favorite things about Heather. Fear and gore never caused her pause. 

“Let him in.” Astrid rarely used her leader voice with her friends, but sometimes they left her no other choice. Heather’s green eyes met hers, weighing the seriousness of this situation. She stood for a moment longer before giving a hard nod and then turning away. 

Moments later, she could hear the shrieks of her people as barks filled her ears. Her vision was filled with black as a giant dog came into view. Dog? No way. That’s way too big to be a dog. Astrid decided to ignore her internal monologue to study the beast closer. 

He was big, bigger than any Great Dane she had ever seen. He had sleek black fur that was shedding all over the medical hut, and round, green eyes that seemed more friendly than the large bark he let out. 

“Woah! Calm down boy! Look, he’s right here.” Astrid gestured to the young man who was now nearly clean of the blood that had dropped all over his body. The animal took no time in launching himself at his owner, licking his face and hands until he seemed satisfied that she hadn’t done anything to harm him. He then stepped back, walked in a circle and settled by the head of the man. 

“Should I be worried that all that raucous didn’t wake him?” Astrid asked tentatively. 

Fishlegs leaned up from the sink that he was scrubbing his hands in and glanced at Astrid. “It’s a pretty bad head injury and he lost a lot of blood. I’ve done what I can and now we just wait and see if he wakes up.”

Astrid’s heart dropped at his words. She couldn’t stop the self-blaming thoughts that ran through her head. Maybe if I’d gotten their earlier. Maybe if I’d ran faster. Maybe-

“Astrid, you did everything you could. You ran out nearly 6 miles to fetch this boy because you got word of someone traveling alone.” Fishlegs moved to stand in front of her. Astrid kept her eyes on the floor, unable to make eye contact. 

“You can’t save them all, but you sure as Hel give it your best shot every time.” Fishlegs patted her on the shoulder and then held the door to the hut open, waiting for her to make her exit before he left. 

Astrid hesitated, glancing back at the man who had been traveling alone for Gods no how long. She didn’t want him to wake up by himself, too. 

“He’s gonna be okay, he has his abnormally large animal by his side. Besides, the twins should nearly be to their rendezvous point, and we should be able to see the explosion from here. Do you really want to miss that?” Fishlegs gestured his arm to the door again, emphasizing the appeal to the outdoors. 

Astrid smiled despite herself and headed out the door, glancing back one last time. The man’s chest was rising and falling with deep, even breaths and his face was smoothed over with the peacefulness that only sleep could bring. He was older than she originally thought, but no older than her. His dog gave her an affectionate yelp, and she smiled as she stepped her boots on the soft grass. 

She hadn’t taken five steps before the sounds of a distant explosion filled her ears. Delighted voices gathered around her as people rushed out of their homes to see the yellow and orange colors that filled the setting sun sky. Looking around, Astrid smiled as her coms unit was filled with Ruff’s voice, “mission accomplished, chief.”


	2. The Fence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter I really wanted to highlight the importance of Astrid’s role and also show how much the people respect her. Also Astrid is really protective and a little bit of a control freak. I don’t feel like that’s too ooc though. Anyways I hope you guys like this addition!

Time passed slowly the next few days. Astrid felt like she was going insane without any further development of the stranger’s state. No matter how many times she stopped by the tiny hut they had moved him to, he remained unconscious. By the fifth day Astrid was starting to lose hope he would wake up at all. She wasn’t sure how long was an appropriate amount of time to wait before deeming him brain dead. That’s what that term was for, right? People who were still breathing but would never wake up? She shook her head, effectively clearing it of medical jargon she didn’t understand. 

When she entered the hut, she stared down at the man. His breathing was still even, which she took for a good sign. Her eyes slid further down his body, to the empty spot just below his left knee. Fishlegs had insisted on taking the prosthetic off so that he could take a look at the amputation marks. “Not bad.” He’d said, and nodded approvingly. 

Astrid hadn’t even noticed the man was missing a limb until she came to see him the next day. It wasn’t unusual in this day, as it was well known knowledge that if someone was bit and the limb was taken off in time, it could save the person’s life.

While she was standing there, too deep in her thoughts to notice, Fishlegs entered behind her. The sound of the door shutting jolted her back to the present. 

“Hey, ‘Legs. How’s it going?” Astrid moved to the side, making room for him to come examine the man lying on the cot. 

The large man looked irritated beyond belief. “It’s the middle of summer and people can’t seem to grasp that if it’s hot, they need to drink more water.” Fishlegs rolled his eyes, clearly exasperated. “If I have to treat one more person for heat exhaustion I’m going to throw myself to a walker voluntarily.”

Astrid gave a soft laugh. “Please don’t, you’re the only person in this entire township who has even the vaguest medical knowledge.” That thought crossed Astrid’s mind often. It’s true they had been building up their population, but people that had any medical experience seemed to be extinct. Fishlegs did his best, but the apocalypse started when they were 17. He could only go off what he’d read, and that had led to a lot of trial and error in the beginning. But now, seven years later they were able to keep most people they saved alive. She was grateful to Fishlegs for that. 

“These people have just about as many brains left as the walking dead out there.” He pointed to the far side of the wall, signaling he was talking about those that shambled lifelessly beyond their fence. “You need to organize a meeting to remind them that taking care of themselves is just as important as building the township up.” Fishlegs then glanced under the man’s bandages and slowly began to unravel them. 

Astrid rolled her eyes. “I’ll have Ruffnut organize something for later tonight. In the meantime”, she paused as she took a seat on the floor, sitting by the giant dog(?) that refused to leave the man’s side, “try and take care of them with some compassion? They’re just working hard and not realizing how exhausted they are until it’s too late.” Astrid looked up at him with soft eyes. She knows all too well the feeling of being too invested in something and paying the price later. But now wasn’t the time to think about that. 

Fishlegs began to wrap the head back up, avoiding her puppy dog eyes. “Sure thing, captain.” 

Astrid ignored his sarcastic jab. “How’s he holding up?” She glanced at the sleeping man’s face, which had remained unchanged since he was brought in. 

Fishlegs turned towards her, his face unreadable. “His wound is healing nicely but that means nothing if he doesn’t wake up.”

Astrid frowned. No new news then. “I guess we’ll just keep waiting.” She stood up, patting the beasts head gently and headed towards the door. She suddenly felt uncomfortable and hot in the small space. 

Fishlegs followed her out. “I’ll keep an eye on him. It hasn’t been that long yet. We’ll keep checking on him and if he doesn’t wake up in a few weeks… well we’ll deal with it then.” 

Astrid sighed but didn’t reply. She headed towards the center of their small town while Fishlegs moved towards another medical hut. He bid her goodbye before going in to inevitably deal with more heat exhausted patients. 

“Astrid, hey! Wait up!” She turned to see Snotlout jogging towards her, a big grin on his face. 

“Listen, babe I was thinking about-“

“Don’t call me babe.” Astrid threatened. 

“Right right. Anyways I was thinking of ways to try and improve the taste of our food.” He clapped his hands together. “Here’s the thing, we need spices.” Snotlout threw his arms out suddenly, giving her jazz hands and a dazzling smile. 

Astrid snorted. “Right, let me go and order some tarragon off of Amazon. Oh wait-“

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.” Snotlout’s eyes narrowed and he tapped his foot impatiently. “You haven’t let us travel but a few miles outside of the township. Who knows the kind of delicious herbs that could be living just outside of our reach.”

“I never took you as a chef.” Astrid raised her eyebrows and pressed her lips together, attempting to conceal her smile. 

“That’s not the point, is it? It’s time for us to be able to explore this land a little bit.”

“It’s too dangerous.” Astrid began walking again, suddenly wanting to be finished with this conversation. Snotlout had to run to catch up with her. 

“It was too dangerous three years ago when we first landed here and had no cover. Now we have weapons, we have comm units and we have strong, smart people to back us up.” Snotlout stepped in front of her, effectively stopping her in her tracks. “You can’t live in fear forever.” 

“My cautiousness is the only thing that has kept anyone in this township alive!” Astrid could feel the anger brewing in the pit of her stomach now. She was tired of rehashing the same arguments with her companions. 

“We don’t know what's out there. Is your life really worth risking for better tasting stew?” Her movements had become animated, with her hands flailing to help emphasize her point. 

“You can’t keep us in this bubble forever. This isn’t a suitable way to live.” His words felt desperate and sincere. Astrid glanced to the side, watching as her townspeople built up a new hut to help accommodate the influx of people she had rescued as of late. They were laughing and chatting with each other. A little beyond, she could see tiny children running around in a game of tag. 

“Maybe you could start coming out on rescue missions with me?” Astrid figured with the right tone of voice she could convince him this was a suitable compromise. Normally she was the only one who went out for rescues, but lately she had been letting some of the gang come and meet her halfway for assistance when things got a little out of hand, as they had with their latest conquest. 

Snotlout rolled his eyes. “Right because Eret and I don’t already accompany you.” He moved closer to her, grabbing her gently by the shoulders. “Those are great and heroic but doesn’t roaming the land with no real purpose just sound… so amazing?” His eyes took on a dream-like state as he fantasized about the freedom beyond the fence. 

Astrid kept her eyes on him for a moment, watching as a man who had to grow up too fast took on a rare child like gaze. “Okay okay, I’ll think about it.” She paused. “I guess some extra spices wouldn’t hurt.” Astrid gave him a half-hearted smile. 

Snotlout seemed to recognize the end of the conversation. He gave her a blazing grin and then ran off to help the townspeople build. 

Astrid continued her slow trek to the center, occasionally getting stopped to answer a question, or flagged down to make sure the construction was being done correctly. By the time she made it to the food hall, she found Eret sitting with two bowls, one empty. He shoved the full one towards her. 

“Perfect timing, I was just about to leave and see if the zombs had finally nabbed you.” He smiled and leaned back, looking at her expression. “What’s going on in your head?”

“Am I overbearing?” Astrid asked, taking a bite of her mutton stew, that admittedly tasted pretty bland. She shoved it to the side. 

“Yes.” 

“So you think I should let Snotlout go and explore the land to look for spices.” She gave him a hard glance. 

“Yes.”

“What if he dies?” 

“Then he’s probably not a very good post-apocalyptic warrior.” Eret grabbed her bowl and began to eat out of it. 

“And that’s it? I just let my people go outside knowing there’s a chance they won’t come back? What if they accidentally wonder too close to a surrounding township?” Astrid’s mind was reeling. Inside the fence, she was in control and they were safe. Outside of it anything could happen and it would be beyond her knowledge. 

“You’re here to provide shelter and make sure they’re safe while they’re inside. If they wander out and don’t come back, that’s their fault.” She understood Eret knew about having his freedom ripped away better than anyone. 

“You make it sound so simple. Like I can just let them go and risk their lives like that.” Astrid looked down at her hands, which she was twisting nervously in her lap. 

“You give them the choice. What they do with that is up to them.” He leaned in closer to her. “You have to let more than just your comms team out. The people are happy with safety for now, but soon they’ll get bored. They’ll leave this place on a count of feeling like they had their freedom ripped away.”

She glanced up at him, making eye contact. He looked sincere, like he wasn’t trying to be as harsh as the words felt. 

“You’re right. I know that.” She paused. “It’s time.” Astrid glanced around at the empty hall. “A town meeting for tonight needs to happen anyways. I’ll make the announcement then.” Astrid stood, eager to be alone with her racing thoughts before the meeting commenced. “Let Ruffnut know to organize one for tonight after dinner, alright?”

Eret merely nodded, and she could feel his eyes on her back as she walked out into the daylight.

——  
Astrid watched as the food hall filled with her people. People who had come to trust her for their safety. People who looked towards her for guidance. She bit her lip to keep from sighing. 

Once the door closed, Astrid glanced around the room. Around 30 people sat in front of her, patiently waiting to hear what she had to say. Beside her sat her team, Eret and Ruffnut on either side of her, followed by Tuffnut, Heather, Fishlegs and Snotlout. She looked at Eret then, and he nodded gently. She took a deep breath and stood, her chair squeaking across the rough floor. 

“First off, I want to thank everyone for coming to this last minute meeting.” She looked out to her people, giving a slight pause. “Fishlegs has made me aware of an increase in heat exhaustion related issues. Just a reminder, that since the summer months are hot, everyone needs to be hyper-aware of how much water they’re drinking and how much time they’re spending in the sun. If you feel too hot, take a break. Always have a skein of water by your side.” Astrid felt stupid having to state what she felt were obvious facts, but she knew that this was part of being a leader. 

The people below her nodded politely, listening intently for what else she had to say. 

“And..” she hesitated, unsure of how to approach this part. “And the gates are now free for anyone to go through.” She spoke fast and by the time the words were out of her mouth she wasn’t sure that they even made sense. 

A few people down from her, she heard Snotlout let out a loud whoop. Ruff and Tuff high fived each other and a murmur had begun to breakout over the townspeople. 

“I want you guys to have your freedom. The town is small and there’s not a lot to offer in here besides food and a place to sleep. But I hope you’ll be smart about this. Please don’t leave if you feel you won’t be safe. Don’t head out too far your first few times out.” Astrid bit her tongue. She didn’t want to sound like she was begging her people. “If you don’t come back we can’t guarantee we’ll be able to come look for you. So please, make sure you come back.” Astrid feigned a smile at them, one she hoped wouldn’t convey how scared she felt.  
——  
When the meeting was over and Astrid was heading towards the fence to check on the defenses, Fishlegs stopped her. 

“Stop by the rescue’s hut when you’re done.” Was all she got out of him. He looked calm, but she felt a nervous energy thrumming under the surface. She nodded and continued on her path. Even though she was curious about Fishlegs vague request, she still needed to put her people's safety first. She walked the fence line quickly, being sure that all defenses were still secured before eagerly heading towards the warmly lit hut. 

She stepped inside and looked around. Fishlegs was nowhere to be found. The strange man, however was in a seated position, green eyes wide open and his dog-beast laying at the foot of his cot.

“Hello, Astrid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to wait a little longer for Hiccup to be unconscious but tbh I was tired of accidentally writing his name and needing to delete it bc no one knows it yet. So yay! Hiccup lives!


	3. Haddock Men

Seconds after the words left his mouth he was retching into a bucket strategically placed in his lap. Though Astrid felt bad for him, she was relieved to have his stare removed momentarily. She didn't like being caught off guard and this allowed her to rearrange the look on her face from one of blatant surprise to a guarded expression. 

She waited until he had finished dry heaving to speak. “Well, looks like we won't have to feed you to the walkers after all.” She walked closer to him, stopping when she was only a few inches from the bed. 

He had his forehead resting against the tip of the bucket and his voice was muffled when he replied. “They couldn't handle all this.” He slowly lifted one of his arms, pretending to flex his bicep.

Astrid giggled despite the fact that this situation should be serious. Once a rescue was healed it was important for her to start her interrogation. She always welcomed new people, but had learned the hard way that not everyone had good intentions. She had to be sure this man could be trusted. She shook her head and sat down on the edge of cot. 

“What's your name? And how did you know mine?” 

“The man that was in here not long ago told me you'd be coming by to visit. He also threatened me to not get up and leave, or I might be shot by one of the townspeople. I guess you guys don't take well to strangers.” He met her eyes for the first time and she was taken aback by how easily she was sucked into his gaze. His eyes seemed to hold a wealth of knowledge. She suppressed the urge to uncover everything they knew. 

“It's a small township. Everyone knows everyone and when a new person comes in we are sure to introduce them.” Astrid wasn't ready to go into the history of why this was so necessary. Sure, it was partly because she ran a friendly group and wanted everyone to be familiar with the people around them, but the origins of this practice had much darker undertones. 

“You still haven't told me your name.” Astrid stated

“It's Hiccup.” He stuck out his hand. Astrid took it slowly, feeling the callousness of his fingers. Well at least it seemed he was okay with manual labor. That could be an advantage if he chose to stay. 

“You had a pretty serious head injury when I found you out there.” She jutted her chin towards the window, referencing to the world beyond the fence. 

“Yeah it still feels pretty serious.” The man- Hiccup ran his fingers gingerly over the wound and winced. His head was then back in the bucket.

Astrid leaned back on her elbows, patiently waiting for him to finish. She glanced at the black beast, thankful for something to look at besides Hiccup’s heaving body. She attempted to gather her thoughts. He was spunkier than she had pictured. A lot more personality was packed into his skinny body than she could have ever imagined. She worried that this was a defense he put on so that he could hide his true intentions. She would have to show him he wasn't the only one with wit. 

Hiccup glanced back up. “How did I get here?” His eyes were glazed over as he looked at her. Astrid could see the dark circles under his eyes that emphasized his exhaustion, despite the fact he had just slept for five days straight. 

“Don't you remember me sweeping in and saving you from those walkers?” Astrid studied his face, waiting for him to lie. She was always waiting for the rescues to lie. No one could earn her trust so easily. 

“You jumped from a tree like a madwoman. At first I thought you were a new breed of zombie, come to kill me in a slower, much more painful way than the normal ones.” Hiccup laughed humorlessly and she could practically see him flashing back to this moment. His eyes tilted up towards the ceiling and he had a small smirk on his face as he remembered his last conscious memories.

“I know I was sweaty but surely I didn't look like the undead.” Astrid paused. “Tell me how you got your head injury.” She had let him control the conversation long enough. She needed answers from him and couldn't keep getting distracted in menial conversation. 

“A township just west of here. They weren't quite as welcoming as I'm hoping you guys are.” He looked weary as he spoke, like he was waiting for Astrid to whip out a sword and stab him through the heart. “I was lucky the man was drunk when he swung that axe or else I might be dead.” Hiccup cast his eyes down, looking at his hands which sat loose in his lap. 

Astrid’s heart sped up at the mention of an unfriendly settlement. “Drago’s township?”

Hiccup’s eyes flashed, but he recovered quickly. “No- uh I mean I didn't get a name. Can't be too sure, like I said they weren't too welcoming.” He gestured to the injury on his head, being sure to not touch it this time. 

Astrid’s eyes narrowed. Not only was he lying, but he was hiding something. Her stomach churned uneasily, telling her that she shouldn't trust this man. Her mind jumped back to a specific word he said earlier. 

“Where are you from, Hiccup?” She looked into his eyes hard, daring him to lie to her again. 

“I've been traveling since the beginning of the apocalypse. The archipelago is large, but apparently the zombies are everywhere. I'm not from this island.” He held her eye contact, but she could sense the effort he was putting into not dropping his gaze down. 

“Why are you lying to me?” Astrid’s uneasy feeling continued to grow and she clenched her fists in an attempt to control her anger. 

Hiccup flinched. “I'm not lying. Boats aren't hard to come by when the majority of the world is dead. It hasn't been hard to travel.” 

“You're from this very island.” Astrid phrased it so that it sounded like a threat. She was letting him know that he had only one lie left until she threw him out to fend for himself, injured or not. 

Hiccup sat in silence for a while after that. Astrid allowed it. She could see his internal battle. Should he keep with his cover story? Insist she's mistaken and that he's travelled a long way? 

“How did you know?” Hiccup lifted his gaze back to her and she could see he was honestly curious. His eyes seemed to be unable to hide any emotion.

“You said zombies.”

“Yeah, you know the walking undead outside?” His brow crinkled in confusion. 

“Only locals call them zombies. Take it from someone who actually has travelled.” She gave him a sly glance, pleased to finally feel like she had the upper hand. “Where I come from, everyone calls them walkers. I hadn't ever heard of the term zombies until me and my team landed here.” Eret had been the first person she heard say zombie. She can still hear his ringing laughter as he looked at their faces, trying to figure out why they were so confused. 

Hiccup shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. “Right, probably should have done my research more thoroughly.”

“Why did you lie?” Astrid stood up, wanting to take a more intimidating position over the man.

“Do you really want to discuss your tragic past with some stranger? You seem to be in charge here, which means you're probably aware of the other settlements. If I told you where I came from, then you'd have way more in depth questions than if I was from a different island.” Hiccup finished with a huff. The explanation and the emotions behind them had clearly winded him. His face paled as he leaned back and closed his eyes, clearly trying not to vomit again 

“Your attempt to get me to sympathize with you will not deter me. We both know why it matters if you are from a settlement around here.” She turned away briefly walking further away from his bed, so he couldn't see the flash of emotion on her face. Astrid agreed with his statement. Most people's past were traumatic, and she couldn't imagine opening up about hers to a stranger. But she knew that it was of utmost importance to find out what settlement he had left, and why. 

Hiccup kept his voice grim when he responded. “My last name is Haddock.” 

Astrid turned sharply at that. “As in the Haddock township?” 

“The very same.” Hiccup stated, his eyes still shut. 

“Why would you leave your settlement?”

“My dad’s settlement.” he corrected. “And do you really have to ask that question? You've seen what he's capable of.” Hiccup attempted to sit up straighter, groaning when his body protested the fast movement. 

Astrid knew all too well what Stoick the Vast was capable of. A flash of fire appears in her mind. She waved it away. Now was not the time to think about old traumas, old mistakes that she had been trying so desperately to right. 

At least Hiccup’s lies now made sense. Why would they take him in when he was a Haddock? Of course the other settlement had sent him away with the swinging of an axe. There was no way any sane person would let a Haddock stay on their grounds. The danger he posed wasn't worth the risk to her people, whom she was so desperate to keep safe. But something felt so very wrong about sending him away. Her stomach twisted at the thought of the boy walking out of the gate, alone once again. 

“Why should I trust anything you say?” Astrid asked. “You don't even look like Stoick.”

Hiccup let out a harsh laugh. “Oh trust me, you don't have to remind me how unlike my father I am.” His voice had gone bitter and his hands were furiously flailing as he became lost in his own dialogue. “I was never what he wanted. Not strong enough, not smart enough and there was always too much of this-” his hands moved up and down his body.

“You just gestured to all of you.” Astrid deadpanned. 

“Yeah, well welcome to my childhood.” Hiccup shook his head slowly. “I should have gotten out sooner than I did. But even when I did get out I didn't realize how far his wrath traveled. I didn't think I'd be banned from all the settlements. I didn't think someone would attempt to murder me just for being related to the man.” His fingers pinched the bridge of his nose and he squinted his eyes shut. 

Astrid took the moment to study him. The emotional reaction felt completely genuine, and if his performance from earlier was any sign, then he wasn't a great actor. He seemed to genuinely dislike what his father has done since the start of the apocalypse. That had to mean something didn't it? Her gut feeling said yes. The longer she sat and talked to Hiccup, the less inclined she was to send him away. But there was still a nagging feeling that there was something he was hiding. Astrid had never felt so torn about a rescue before. 

“Why should I let you stay?” Astrid sat back down on the cot, hearing it groan beneath the added weight. 

Hiccup gave her a surprised look before responding. “Well I uh-” he paused. “I'm really great with my hands.” He said slowly. 

Astrid raised her eyebrows. “I assure you that seduction techniques will not work so easily on me.”

She watched the heat rise up Hiccup’s neck and into his cheeks. “Uh, no I um, I meant with tools. I can make them too.” Hiccup couldn't meet her gaze, seemingly still flustered. 

Astrid reasoned this wasn't a bad bargaining chip. So few of the people here had any basic forging or tool skills. They have had to go with what Eret had taught them, which wasn't much. 

“But why should I trust you enough to let you go around yielding dangerous weapons around my people?” Astrid was petrified to make her past mistakes again. She didn't know if she had the capability to watch anyone else die because of her own naivety. 

Hiccup looked down at his dog beast and gave him a light pat on the head before answering. “I don't know, honestly.” He puffed hot hair out as he tried to gather his thoughts. “I'm sorry I lied to you. I'm hardly ready to face my past, nevermind explain it to some terrifying, beautiful woman who could so easily turn me away to the undead.” 

Astrid felt a brush creep into her cheeks. “You think I'm terrifying?” 

Hiccup huffed out a laugh. “You're the scariest thing I've seen since I've left home.” He confirmed, giving her a smile that revealed slightly crooked teeth. 

Astrid gave him a small smirk in return. “Flattery will get you nowhere with me.” She gave him one last look over before making her decision. She searched his face for a reason to not trust what he's told her, but she couldn't find any. “You can stay.”

Hiccup’s eyes lit up. “Wait, really?”

“My team will be keeping a close eye on you. Therefore when you're healed enough, wherever they go, you go. You will not be out of our eyesight for any reason and you will not be given a weapon until I say so.” Astrid stood up and headed for the door, not feeling the need to linger any longer. 

Before she reached the exit though, she felt one last question tug at her mind. She turned around to face the man and eyed his beast. “Hiccup?”

Hiccup moved his large eyes to meet hers and nodded his head, telling her to go on. 

“What… What is he?” She jutted her chin to the giant black animal that she had been trying too hard to convince herself was a dog. 

“Toothless? That's a good question really. I met him not long after the zombies had started walking and he was just a pup then. Before I knew it he grew into all this.” He gestured wildly at the animal that was taking up the majority of the tiny cot. “I consider him a wolf, but even that doesn't feel right.”

“He could eat a wolf in two bites.”

“Maybe, but he never would. He's harmless when it comes to anything besides the zombies.” Hiccup gave Toothless an affectionate pat.

Astrid watched them for a moment more, truly fascinated by their relationship. Pure adoration was written all over Hiccup’s face and Toothless gazed dreamily back at him. She then headed for the door once more, deciding she had done enough invasion of his privacy for one night. 

“Good night, Astrid.”

“Don't give me a reason to not trust you.” The words left her lips before she could even process what she was saying. She didn't stay to see his reaction. She shut the hut door with a light click and headed towards her own home, knowing her team would be there waiting to hear how the interrogation went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note that Astrid is such a “follow your gut feeling” type of gal in this fic. I hope you guys liked it! This is the first chapter that actually starts leading towards some sort of plot and I hope I conveyed that well!  
> Also I took inspiration from the Walking Dead series and in this world the concept of zombies never existed, so it wasn’t a well known word. Basically different regions have different names for the undead.


	4. Boundaries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: There are references that allude to rape in this chapter.

“You can't be serious.”

“Are you crazy?”

“Do you have a death wish?” 

Her friends spoke over each other, making it hard to hear all of the separate responses. Astrid merely sat back, knowing there would be no point in speaking until they had all calmed down. She glanced around at their bewildered expressions. She had just finished explaining exactly who it was that they'd rescued and why she had decided to let him stay. Needless to say they weren't pleased. She couldn't blame them for it, but she did hope that they would at least listen to her reasoning. When the room finally settled into silence she continued forward with her explanation. 

“A stranger swung an axe at him just on the basis that he was related to the man.” This was the third time Astrid had said this, but she would keep restating it until they were done interrupting her. She paused, waiting to see if anyone would shout an objection. When they simply continued to stare at her, she pressed forward. 

“There was true emotional turmoil and regret when he was talking about his father. I could tell he meant what he said.” No one seemed to question this. Astrid had good instincts and some days, in the beginning especially, it was the only thing that got them from one day to the next. The real issue had arisen when she allowed herself to drop her guard and blindly trust someone. Her team knew she would never make that mistake again, but it didn't mean they never had any problems with the decisions she made. Discussions like this is what made them a unit. Even though she knew they would allow her to have final say, she wouldn't truly keep Hiccup here if any of them came up with any valid argument why he should be gone. The table around her was silent for a minute and she allowed them to gather their thoughts. She was ready to answer any questions they had honestly, just as she always had. 

“Do we tell the townspeople who he is?” This was the first time Heather had spoke since they gathered at the table. Ever the practical person, she never let emotions force her voice before she had all the information. 

“Of course, but we all know that name will mean nothing. Most of them have been here just barely over a year and they’re all from foreign lands. Anyone who would know to fear the Haddock township is no longer with us.” Astrid cast her eyes down. “Stoick hasn't tormented any settlement since that initial attack. These people know nothing of him, or what he's capable of.” All of the people that were sheltered here were young, having traveled from their islands only after their parents perished at the hands of large herds of walkers. The township also housed a small group of kids that these young adults birthed at an early age. Some at the hands of unwarranted sexual advances, others simply because birth control in the apocalypse isn't what it used to be. Astrid didn't judge and she certainly didn't ask invasive questions like that. She just wanted them all to be safe and never have to feel the fear that they did in the outside world. 

“Should someone go stand watch outside his hut?” Snotlout made as if he was going to stand up while he asked this, but Astrid signaled him to sit back down. 

“He's too weak and sick to go anywhere, he could barely move without retching. Besides, Fishlegs will let us know when it's time for us to keep a closer eye on him, right?” She glanced toward the medic of the group with an expectant stare. 

“He should be good to get up and walk around in a few days. After that, all bets are off. I say in two days we need to keep someone with him at all times.” He nodded afterwards, as if he was making sure he agreed with what he had just said out loud. 

“Wait, so does that mean someone has to move out of our hut and into his?” Tuffnutt groaned. “No way, not me. I just got my bed the way I like it.”

“What, smelly and covered in soot?” Ruffnut hit her brother upside the head. 

Astrid pondered that before answering. Huts were hard to build, so they tried to put as many people in one as they could. Therefore the team shared the hut situated closest to the entrance of the township, just in case walkers overran the fence. They would be the first line of defense and would give the rest of the people time to escape. 

There were three rooms in their hut. One for the boys, one for the girls and a separate room for emergencies. If a person was working the night watch then they would sleep in this room during the day, as it was furthest away from the raucous of the village. She had also seen Ruff and Eret sneak companions into this room late at night. They were always gone by daylight and Astrid had never felt the need to mention she saw. She could only assume that the others had also used this room for the same activities. She just prayed to the Gods that there wouldn't be anyone pregnant in this village. While they had expanded their medical knowledge, she couldn't very well rely on Fishlegs to birth a child. 

“Well if no one is willing to leave the hut then we could always move him in here.” Astrid looked around, gauging everyone's reactions. Normally Hiccup would move to the house with the least amount of people, but she couldn't risk putting him with innocents. 

“That's totally not fair, there's already more guys than girls and are room is cramped enough.” Snotlout rolled his eyes and looked towards the other men for agreement. 

“We have a third room. Two of you could move over there. Unless you can tell me of any reason that wouldn't be a good idea.” Astrid wasn't sure why none of them informed her about their late night rendezvous, but she really wanted them to admit it to her right now. And if they didn't, she had effectively solved the hut problem. 

No one seemed to be able to make eye contact with her. She paused a second longer before continuing, “does anyone object to bringing Hiccup into the hut so we can all keep an active watch on him?”

They all shook their heads, and still not one of them would look at her. She decided to intensify their discomfort. “That's really a shame, I guess I'll have to find a new place to have sex.” She stood up and turned towards the stairs to head up to her room. She could feel the gapes of her companions behind her. She smiled to herself and shut the door to the bedroom loudly. 

\---  
“Why do I have to take first watch of the kid?” She could practically feel Eret’s irritation radiating off of him. She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. 

They were walking from their house over to the hut that contained Hiccup. Fishlegs had come home last night and let them know that he would be ready to move around starting tomorrow, and that meant watches had to begin. 

“You know why.” Astrid took a bite out of the plum that Snotlout had brought back on his last journey beyond the fence. Even though she had seen through Snotlout’s ruse of wanting to explore the outside world for spices, he had indeed come home with many useful new foods and tastes that they hadn't experienced since the apocalypse had started. The plum was just one of the many delicacies that had been lying just beyond the reach of the fence. 

Eret stole the plum out of her hand and took a giant bite. “I want to hear you say it out loud.”

Astrid scoffed. “That's ridiculous.”

Eret laughed around a mouthful of juicy fruit. “Say it or I'll go and tell Tuffnut that you changed your mind and he has first watch.” Eret laughed as panic passed through Astrid’s eyes. 

“Okay okay! You're my go to, my number one and the most trusted advisor I have.” She watched as a smug smile floated onto his face. “Besides Ruff.” She amended. “But we both know why we can't have her take the first watch.” 

“That girl is quite the sex fiend.” Eret nodded in agreement. 

Astrid’s jaw dropped. “I meant because she's out doing recon on the herd that the Meatheads reported just to the west of us, but please do tell me of all your knowledge about Ruffnut’s sex life.”

Eret’s face turned a dark shade of red. “Let's just say that toothpick of a man couldn't handle her.” He cleared his throat. “I am however interested in knowing who in the entire town could have caught your eye.”

Astrid’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Huh?”

“I've been with you lot practically since you swam up onto this island and I have never seen you glance twice at a man or woman, but now you're boasting about your sex life in the extra bedroom?” There was hint of bitterness in Eret’s tone, but Astrid ignored it. 

“You really think I have time for even the most casual of sex? You better than anyone know how little free time I have. And by then I'm way too exhausted to do anything besides sleep.” Astrid could practically feel the testosterone oozing out of his pores. She wasn't dumb. She could see the glances that lingered too long and the longing looks that he shot when she laughed at a joke Snotlout told. But Astrid wasn't interested and had never pretended to be. Eret had never pushed her on explanations as to why, and for that she was grateful. However his jealous tone here was enough to grate her nerves. 

They arrived at Hiccup’s hut without exchanging another word. Inside was Fishlegs, who was just finishing bandaging up Hiccup’s head. The man seemed to be in a much better state than when Astrid had seen him last. He was sitting up straighter and the barf bucket had been removed from his lap. On closer inspection she could see that his eyes were brighter and the exhaustion that was practically radiating off him was gone. 

“Hey, Hiccup. Glad to see you're feeling better.” She gave him a soft smile. “This is Eret.” She gestured to the large man standing to her left. He had his arms crossed but he gave a small smile. “You're going to be following him around today. Eret is on fence duty so he can show you how that works. Also he'll be showing you to your new hut.” Feeling satisfied with her explanation, Astrid moved towards the door that was still open. 

“New hut?” She turned around to see Hiccup’s confused expression.

“Moving in with us mate, at least until you can be trusted.” Eret gave him a wink and a wry smile. Astrid giggled as she headed out to the late morning light. 

\---

It hadn't been half an hour when Eret and Hiccup approached her, neither looking pleased. 

“Do you know that this behemoth of an animal follows him everywhere?” Eret skipped pleasantries and went straight to complaining. 

Astrid blinked. “Is he vicious? I saw the kids playing with him yesterday and they seemed okay with him.” She glanced around to see the wolf (that's one of the names she had decided to call him, at least) rolling around on his back in the grass with his tongue lolled to the side.

Eret ignored her question. “How am I supposed to get anything done with this predator so closely on my tail?” Astrid once again looked passed Eret to Toothless, who was now nibbling on the grass in his still upside down position. 

Astrid was about to give a sarcastic retort when she saw Eret’s shaking hands. She then looked at his chest, right where she knew she would see marks of mauling if he wasn’t wearing a shirt. This wasn't Eret’s first encounter with an apocalyptic animal like it was hers. He had more than just emotional turmoil to deal with. 

She flashed back to when they first found Eret, laying on the ground and bleeding out from an unknown wound over his right breast. Heather and Fishlegs had worked all night to get the bleeding to stop. Back then they had so little medical knowledge, it was a miracle Eret survived. But he did, and now he was standing in front of her with a pleading look in his eyes. 

“Hiccup, how about you follow me today?” She dismissed Eret with a firm flick of her hand and though he looked grateful he said nothing. 

Hiccup moved closer to her, his gait uneven due to his prosthetic. “I take it he's from Drago’s camp.”

Astrid tried to hide the surprise on her face. “I'm sure you'll learn more about everyone in due time.” 

Hiccup glanced at her, his eyes squinting in the sunlight. “What do you know about Drago’s camp?”

Astrid paused, considering how much she wanted to say. The question sounded innocent enough, but her gut told her not to give too much away. “He's not interested in peace with other settlements and he weaponizes animals.” She started to walk forward, gesturing at him to follow. He kept up with her fast pace despite the uneven ground underneath his prosthetic. 

Hiccup seemed satisfied enough with that answer, but it wasn't long before he was talking to her again. “So what are we doing?” 

Astrid smiled, keeping her eyes forward. “How do you feel about babysitting?”

Hiccup’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Babysitting? I haven’t seen a child in years.”

I know, Astrid thought. I’ve worked very hard to make sure of that very thing. “Well you’re in for a surprise today. The person who normally watches the kids is ill so we’ll be taking her spot. We have 7 kids here, aging from 2-6.” 

Hiccup frowned. “Two years old? I have no idea what to do with a child that small.” She watched as a wave of anxiety passed over his face. 

“Don’t worry, they’re pretty self sufficient.” 

He was silent the rest of the walk towards the children’s hut and Astrid was thankful. She thought back to what he’d said. Though Astrid had tried her best to intercept all people traveling with children she could never be sure if she got to them all. She had long ago made it her goal to rescue all children and young adults; to try and save them from continuing to see the horrors that took place beyond this fence. Horrors that she had to live through. 

The task wasn’t an easy one at first. She could only see so far from their then tiny settlement and couldn’t always be on patrol to find and rescue these people. Things got easier when they made peace with the Meatheads. Their settlement was close by to what used to be a dock on the island, but it was covered by large trees. They were able to see people come on the island, but their settlement remained hidden from anyone who wouldn’t know to look for it. When the peace treaty was drawn up Astrid requested they let her know of any young that come up on shore. In exchange they could contact them whenever they needed recon on a group of walkers. The agreement was shook on and so far it seems they had kept their word. 

When they had reached the hut, Astrid paused in front of the door and turned to Hiccup. “Well, are you ready for the most exhausting day of your life?”

Hiccup laughed. “Please, I spent years living outside of any settlement. I think I can handle some kids.” Hiccup pushed past her and stepped inside. 

Astrid laughed, but said nothing. He would learn firsthand. 

\---

It was afternoon by the time they had gotten all the kids settled for their nap. Astrid sat down on the floor of the hut and gestured to the empty spot beside her. Hiccup plopped down clumsily, brushing their shoulders together briefly. 

They had spent the morning chasing around the kids outside. Astrid felt rather envious of the bounds of energy they had. She was sure if she had half as much that running the township wouldn't be so hard. Between games of tag and hide & seek Astrid and Hiccup hadn't had much time to talk. She intended on taking advantage of the downtime. 

“So how are you liking things so far?” Astrid reached for backpack that she had brought in earlier. She pulled out two plums and handed one to Hiccup. 

“Everyone seems really nice so far. It's not very big here. Why is that?” Hiccup was tossing the plum for one hand to the next, seemingly having just as much energy as the kids. 

“There are a lot of settlements to choose from on this island, and we're not exactly in the best location.” Initially that had been on purpose. Astrid forced her team through thousands of walkers until they reached the middle of the island. She insisted that being this far away from the shoreline would allow less people to catch them off guard and kill them. It meant they had to deal with a larger amount of herds but in comparison to the humans on this island, she'd take a zombie any day of the week. 

“Not a lot of good settlements though.” He spoke around his plum as he took a bite. 

Astrid scoffed. “Yeah but they don't know that. They're just desperate for shelter and food.” 

“What do you know about the settlements around here?”

“I've met with all of them at least once. The Meathead leader and I meet monthly to make sure we're keeping up the agreements laid out in our peace treaty.” 

“You made peace with the Meatheads?” Hiccups eyes grew wide and his mouth opened slightly. 

“I've tried to make peace with all of them. You can imagine which ones had the worst reactions. Drago threatened to chase me off with his deformed animals and well, I'm sure you know the Haddock settlement wasn't open to the idea.” That wasn't exactly true. Stoick had agreed to peace, with a genuine smile across his face. It was just days later, however that he sent a man supposedly looking for shelter to their town to set it on fire. Before Astrid was able to kill him he handed her a note: “peace is not possible”. She found out the next morning that he had set flame to all nearby settlements. Astrid shuttered at the memory, abruptly returning to the present. She wanted to talk about less heavy topics. 

“So Toothless”, she jutted her chin at the wolf that was sound asleep with three children laying on top of him, “he's pretty good with the zombs, huh?”

Hiccup laughed. “You should see him in a giant herd. He's not much of a killer, not unless he has to. But man he really loves scaring them off.” Astrid could see him take on a dream-like state as he flash backed on a memory. His eyes were so animated she could practically see it playing like a movie in his pupils. 

“How long were you out there by yourself?” It was something she had wanted to ask the second he woke up, but a part of her feared the answer. She didn't want to picture a teenager walking alone, with only his puppy that would soon grow double his size for company. 

“Its been about three years, I think. Hard to say when the days blended together so much. But I left the Haddock settlement when I was 21. I traveled really far out, to the point where there were no settlements at all. But I must have gotten turned around at some point. I wasn’t really paying attention to which direction I was headed and then I found the settlement who gave me this-” he pointed to the bandage on his head, “-not long before you found me. Just because I hadn't heard of them, doesn't mean they didn’t know of Stoick the Vast.” He grimaced slightly and then turned away. “I traveled day and night with that injury. It might have been longer, but all of those memories after the axe went into my head are blurry.” 

Astrid put a comforting hand on Hiccup’s shoulder. “At least you're gonna get an awesome scar out of it. It's only fun if you get a scar, remember that.” Astrid then lifted the hem of her shirt to expose a thin, red line right below where her ribs started. 

“This is my first one as a result of the outbreak. It was a few months after it all started. Me and Ruff were running to the local supermarket to see if there was any food left when a herd appeared in front of us. One reached out to grab me and it’s long finger nail cut me.” She traced the scar absentmindedly while she told the story. “We left our home not long after that. Snotlout couldn't bear the thought of seeing his mom or dad shambling around aimlessly, hungry for his flesh. With our rations run out anyways I could no longer think of a good reason to stay.” 

Hiccup was still staring at her exposed skin, his eyes slowly traveling up and down the scar. Astrid felt exposed all of the sudden and shoved her shirt back into place. That seemed to snap Hiccup back to the present. He opened his mouth to speak, but before anything could come out she noticed the stirring of one of the children. 

“Looks like nap time is over. Are you ready for more action?” Astrid stood up and offered her hand out to help. 

Hiccup smiled and took her outstretched palm, “I was born ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tried to fill you guys in on a little of the group’s background history and also the Stoick mystery! As always thanks for reading and thanks so much for the kudos and comments. Love you guys!
> 
> ALSO I’ve been thinking about doing a chapter from Hiccup or Eret’s POV but idk if I should or whose it should be from. So if you message me on tumblr (@hiccupfound) and lmk what you want that would help tremendously!!


	5. Zombie Olympics

The sun had long set by the time the two had gotten all the children back to their parents. Astrid noticed Hiccup had a slight limp, probably due to all the kneeling he had done throughout the day. He looked thoroughly exhausted as she led him to the food hall. 

“Okay, I'll admit it. You were right. I can't remember the last time I was this tired.” Hiccup lifted a hand to his neck and rubbed it absentmindedly. “I also don't remember ever being this sore, which is odd because I spent three years running from zombies.” 

Astrid laughed as she opened the doors to the hall. Inside the could see it was empty besides her comms team. Most people were in bed by now, but her friends knew she would be late and they always tried to eat dinner together. She led Hiccup over to the table and gestured for him to sit down. Two bowls appeared in front of them, courtesy of Snotlout. 

“You're gonna love this one babe, I think I really got the spice balance perfect this time.” He rubbed his hands together expectantly and glanced between the bowl and her scowl.

“Snotlout, if you call me babe one more time I promise to never tell you your food is delicious, even if it's true.” In the past few days it had become apparent Snotlout really did have a knack for cooking. Which was great as it seemed no one in the town enjoyed it and was always the last chore to be signed up. 

His mouth moved into a pout. “Way harsh,” he murmured as he sat down across from her. 

Hiccup sat awkwardly next to her, merely watching the interaction of strangers. Astrid had nearly forgotten no one besides Eret and Fishlegs had met him yet. She put her spoon down, deciding introductions were more important. 

“Hiccup, this is my team. There on the end is Heather, she mostly watches the gate entrance for zombies or people. She's always the town hero because she knows exactly what to do in an emergency invasion. Beside her is Fishlegs, but you already know how amazing he is. There across is Ruffnut and her twin Tuffnut. Ruff is incredible with the comms unit but her and her brother are also in charge of recon. They can detour zombs like no other. You've met Eret briefly. He's my go to when I need to vent about how annoying Snotlout is. Speaking of, Snotlout is apparently our new chef, but he's also key when it comes to building up our town.” Astrid finished and looked over at her friends. They were giving Hiccup curious stares, ogling at him like he was a monkey at the zoo. Snotlout and Eret hadn't even seemed to notice the jab she’d thrown at them. She turned towards Hiccup to see a similar expression on his face. Astrid sighed. The apocalypse really did a number on their social etiquette. 

Tuff was the first to interrupt the silence. “I'm not gonna be the one to move into the spare room.” Astrid rolled her eyes.

“Eret and I have already discussed it and he will be the one to stay with Hiccup.” She looked towards Eret to confirm that this was still okay and he gave her a soft nod. Deciding pleasantries were over, she bent to pick up her spoon and tasted the stew. Her face broke out into an expression of pleasure. 

“Oh my Gods, Snotlout this is actually amazing!” She watched as the man pumped a victorious fist into the air. 

During Snotlout’s cheering, Heather had stood from the bench. “I better get going, I'm on night watch tonight.” She glanced at the new addition to their group and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Hiccup. Welcome to the team.” She then turned on her heel and headed out the door. 

Astrid frowned at that. Team? He wasn't apart of their team. They were just keeping an eye on him until he could be trusted. She glanced at her friends but no one else seemed to think twice about what she had said. Had she misheard?

Astrid stood from the table dismissing herself with a quick, “Snotlout you're on Hiccup duty.” And then she was out the door heading to the fence. 

“Hey there stranger, feels like I just saw you.” Heather gave her a wide grin as Astrid approached the gate. 

“Why did you say that?” Astrid was slightly out of breath from how fast she had been walking. 

“This is about the team thing?” Heather asked, twirling her hair innocently. 

“He's not a part of the team. Why would you say that? And why does it bother me?” This was the usual way Heather and Astrid’s conversations went. Heather was so level-headed and in touch with herself while Astrid had the emotional capability of a walnut. 

“It bothers you because you know it could be true. Maybe it's not now, but you can see him being apart of the group in the future.” Heather raised her head so she was looking into Astrid’s eyes. 

“I don't even know him so how am I supposed to know if I can picture him in the group?” Astrid asked this question honestly, truly not understanding why she was feeling this way.

“Astrid, you know everyone way too well. If a person were to come up to you, you would know right then and there if you wanted them to stick around. The fact that you were so willing to have Hiccup stay here already says so much, but then you were okay with him staying in our hut?” Heather threw her arms out wide. “You care for your townspeople but you haven't once tried to talk to any of them on a personal basis.” 

“I don't really have the time to go around being friends with everyone who lives here.” Astrid argued. She loved her people, she really did. But between her rescues and keeping the township afloat she didn't always have the energy for pleasantries. 

“Which is exactly why it's so significant that you've decided to invest your time into Hiccup.” Heather paused. “You think you're just going to move Hiccup in, have him gain your trust and then move him back out?” Heather glanced out over the fence, being sure there were no walkers approaching the settlement. 

“Well I-I didn't think that far ahead.” Astrid could feel the heat rising to her face and she grabbed the end of her braid, twisting it nervously around her fingers. 

“Who's the last person you even so much as asked a personal question about?” Astrid didn't find this a fair question. She didn't want to trigger the people who came in so after her initial interrogation she tried to never probe too deep. She didn't say that though, because Heather already knew. So instead she thought back to see if she even knew the answer. 

“Eret, I guess.” Had it really been that long? It had been almost four years since they washed up on the shore and found him, half dead in a heap of his own blood. 

“Exactly. And you made sure there was plenty of space for him in the boy’s room when we built our hut.” Heather searched her face, looking for any understanding of what she was trying to say.

Astrid nodded slowly as the words washed over her. “Okay, so maybe he becomes a part of the team?” She looked to her friend to confirm this.

Heather scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, maybe. Anyways, let me get back to my job. I've analyzed you enough for a lifetime and my brain hurts.” She turned in the opposite direction and headed to do a perimeter check, leaving Astrid alone with her thoughts. 

\---

When Astrid returned home, she found Eret and Hiccup sitting at the small table in their living room. They seemed to be in deep conversation and Hiccup jumped when the door closed behind her. 

“What are you guys talking about?” She eyed the pair suspiciously. 

Eret glanced up at her, looking too enthusiastic. “Just explaining the house rules to him, is all. Where'd you run off to?”

He was all too eager to change the topic and Astrid didn't let that go unnoticed. She did, however make a mental note to have Eret fill her in on the house rules she had never heard of. For now, though, she had no reason to not trust that Eret wasn’t hiding anything important from her, so she let it slide. 

“Just needed to talk to Heather about something.” Astrid cast her eyes down, hoping they couldn't see the blush that was rising to her cheeks. 

“Ah, girl stuff.” Eret turned towards Hiccup. “You don't want to get involved in any of that, trust me.”

Hiccup seemed lost in his own thoughts, only shaking back to the present when Eret gave him a light nudge on the shoulder. He let out a small laugh, clearly not having heard a word they'd said. 

Before Astrid could think too hard on his strange behavior the comms unit in her ear buzzed with a familiar voice. 

“Big herd coming head on towards the fence. They’re too close for the normal recon.” Heather didn’t sound panicked. She was just informing Astrid know that if she didn’t act quickly they would soon be overrun and then probably dead. No pressure. 

She looked up and met Eret’s eyes and the look on his face let Astrid know that his comms unit was still in his ear as well. 

“So, how do you feel about an old fashioned distraction mission?” She grinned at him. 

Eret barked out a laugh. “I do love watching you play chicken with the zombs. I’ll go get the twins and Snot.” His chair squeaked as he stood and ran for the stairs. She could hear excited voices as everyone roused for the adventure. 

Back before they had successfully launched the township and didn’t have any extra resources, they made a game out of leading the walkers away from their base. Whoever could lead the largest group away would win. Astrid didn’t like to brag, but she had a nearly perfect streak. She baited the group by letting them get within arms reach and then turning away. She would repeat this until they were far enough away, and then she would scale a tree and head back the opposite direction. It might be morbid, but it was their favorite form of entertainment. After the fence went up this game became less necessary and she was less willing to let her friends leave the safety of the township. But every now and then they needed to use their old tactics. 

Hiccup sat at the table still, staring at her with a curious gaze. 

“You’re going to the fence line with Heather. There she can watch you and give us cover at the same time.” Astrid spoke while she unbraided her plait and tied it into a knot on the top of her head. Loose hair made it too easy for walkers to grab on to. 

The others came barreling down the stairs just then, buzzing with excitement.

“I am so gonna be the champion this time. I’ve been practicing.” Tuffnut rubbed his hands together while an evil grin spread across his face. 

Ruffnut rolled her eyes before replying, “yeah that might be more convincing if you hadn’t spent the past few years behind a fence designed to keep walkers out.”

“You don’t know what I get up to during the night.”

“Everyone knows, Tuff. You’re snoring is probably what attracted that herd of zombies here in the first place.” Snoutlout’s tone feigned annoyed, but he couldn’t hide the smile breaking out on his face. 

With everyone downstairs, besides Fish (he never liked these missions) the group made the short journey to the front of the fence. Heather was there with the gate already raised. She held up a pair of binoculars. 

“I’ll be counting how many walkers are in each group, so don’t even try cheating this time, Snotlout.”

Ruff snickered while Snotlout blushed furiously and retorted, “You’re in charge of the newbie while we’re gone. You’ll probably be too busy dealing with him to accurately count anyways.” 

Heather then waved them goodbye and the group was off. Astrid headed towards the left end of the pack, circling dangerously close to their decaying fingers. 

“Hey guys, want a snack? Follow me and you just might get a taste.” Astrid was shouting, trying to get the attention of as many walkers as she could. Luckily her voice carried well and she had attracted the attention of a large amount. She started a fast walk backwards, making sure they were following her. She couldn’t see the rest of her team, but she knew they were there, taking the zombies in opposite directions. 

“Better watch out, Astrid. Tuff actually has a pretty large following.” Heather’s voice echoed in her ear.

“I told you I’ve been practicing!” 

“That’s great and all, but the whole point is to lead them away from camp. How about you change your direction?” Heather sounded slightly exasperated, but the amusement in her voice didn’t go unnoticed. 

The comms unit was silent for a while after that, as all groups went off a few miles with their smaller herds. When the apocalypse first started the sight of a walker was enough to give any of them paralyzing fear. But after seven years they had come to realize the walkers weren’t near as threatening as the humans. It also seemed as if they got slower as time went on. Like the decaying process was still happening, just at a delayed rate. Even in large numbers it was unlikely they would pose much of a threat to anyone who had experience dealing with them. Still, she knew they couldn’t get too close to the fence line. This was a much safer idea. 

“Check-in. You guys should be good to turn back.” Heather’s voice rang in her ear. 

Astrid scaled the tree closest to her and bounded back towards the direction of the base. She listened as her teammates all listed off their confirmations that they were alive. She went last. 

“Astrid, are you there?” 

“Yeah, I’m here! I’m coming back.” 

“Astrid? Hello?” This time it was Eret, who sounded more panicked than Heather. 

Astrid took out her comms unit and saw it was no longer blinking. Oh Gods, she thought. They’re going to think I’m dead. She didn’t put her earpiece back in. She couldn’t listen to their frightened voices. 

Instead she picked up her pace, hoping none of them would come looking for her.

After what felt like an eternity she could see the lights of the township. Faint voices sounded off over her own roaring heartbeat. 

“We can’t just leave her out there! Raise the gods damn gate, Heather!”

“I won’t. This is not what she would want us to do, Eret.” Heather sounded steady and sure.

“I will climb this fence if you don’t let me through.” Astrid could see them clearly now. Ruff and Snotlout had their arms wrapped around Eret’s broad shoulders, holding him in place. 

“I’m here, I’m here,” Astrid panted. She put her hands on her knees and tried to regulate her breathing. 

The group turned to look at her, shock and relief plain on their faces. The gate was opening just moments later. Astrid stepped through and was immediately enveloped into a suffocating hug by Tuffnut. 

“We thought you were a goner! Eret was about to blow a gasket trying to find you.” Ruff laid a sweaty hand on her shoulder as she attempted to extract herself out of Tuff’s embrace. 

“Well I don’t believe that, because that would be the stupidest thing he could have done. Eret’s smarter than that, right?” She turned and looked towards him. He was breathing heavy and his face was twisted with anger. Astrid gulped. 

“Why the Hel didn’t you answer? You know how important it is to pay attention to your comms.” His nostrils were flaring and his breaths came out unevenly. Astrid shook the piece of plastic at him wildly. 

“It’s broken. I tried responding and you guys couldn’t hear me. I ran back as fast I could.” 

Eret had started pacing, clearly not calm enough to listen to reason. Everyone stood quietly, looking back and forth between the pair with nervous eyes. 

“I can’t believe you would go that far out without knowing if your comms was operating properly. Out of all the irresponsible-“

“Hey man, maybe you should take a minute to calm down before speaking again.”

Astrid was surprised to hear Hiccup’s voice. She hadn’t remembered he was here through the chaos of the last few hours. She watched as he gave Eret a hard look she hadn’t even realized he was capable of. Eret sneered at him before speaking. 

“You better watch it. You have no idea what I can do.” He took advancing steps in Hiccup’s direction before walking past him, roughly hitting his shoulder on his way through. 

Astrid stood awkwardly, glancing at her intertwined fingers for a moment before coming back to her senses. 

“Can you fix it?” She looked at her earpiece and then up at Ruff, who glanced at her with sorrowful eyes. 

“I’ll give it a shot in the morning. It’s getting late, we should all head back to the hut.” She was grateful that her friend was willing to dismiss the group on her behalf, as she felt stunned into stupidity. 

With that everyone was trudging off, but Astrid felt glued to her spot. Ruff glanced back at her questioningly. 

“Don’t do it. There’s no point in talking to him when he’s this mad.” 

“He was just scared. He’s still scared.” Guilt tore through Astrid at the look on his face. 

“And he acted like a child because of it. It’s not your fault your comms unit wasn’t working. Leave him be for now.”

Astrid nodded, looking at her feet. A few moments later she was walking along with her friend, back to get a few restless hours of sleep. 

When she entered the home she saw Hiccup sitting at the table by himself. She thought about passing him by and going upstairs, but at the last second she detoured to the living room and pulled out one of the small chairs around the table. 

“How bad was it?” She needed to know exactly what she had put her friends through. 

Hiccup glanced up at her, his green eyes extremely welcoming after the steely gaze of Eret. 

“He really was going to climb the fence. His strength and anger could have rivaled that of Loki’s.” 

Astrid laughed humorlessly. “He so rarely gets angry anymore. I think I forgot he was capable of that.”

“They were all really worried. A few more minutes and I don’t think he would have been the only one going out to hunt for you. Something tells me Heather is the only one who was able to think logically in that moment.” He spoke quietly, not wanting the others to hear him divulging their raw emotion. He turned his eyes toward the middle of the table, where Astrid’s fingers were tapping restlessly. 

“Heather is always level-headed. She’s a different breed of sensible.” Astrid ducked her head down so that she was making eye contact. “Thank you, for what you did back there. Eret’s a good man but I think his fear was blinding. Your voice reminded him of where he was and made him realize how crazy he was acting.” Astrid paused. “Though he’ll probably never admit it.”

“Yeah well, let’s just hope he doesn’t kill me in my sleep tonight.” Hiccup stood then and headed for the stairs. He paused at the bottom and shifted in place, metal foot creaking against the wood. “Even if he does kill me tonight, it would have been worth it.” He then climbed up and was gone before Astrid could even process his words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for the support on the story you guys! I already have chapter 6 written and it’s from hiccup’s pov. I’m really excited to reveal that one to you but it needs some serious editing. Find me on tumblr @hiccupfound bc I think I’m gonna start posting some extra info about the Zombie universe that I don’t think I’ll be able to fit into the fic. Also feel free to ask me questions over there too!!


	6. Insatiable Touch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is from Hiccup’s POV. Originally I wanted to make this all from Astrid’s POV, but I couldn’t resist. I hope you enjoy!

Hiccup

Hiccup awoke the next morning to the sound of water hitting wood. He jumped up to see Astrid, swinging a bucket lightly and smirking down at Eret, who was soaked to the bone and wearing shocked expression. His stomach lurched uneasily at the fast movement. 

“Since I know you suck at apologizing I thought I’d take this one into my own hands.” She then dropped the bucket loudly on the floor and stalked away. 

Huh. Looks like her anger with Eret had blossomed through the night. He glanced from the now shut door over to his roommate, who was sitting with his chin propped in his hand. 

“Probably deserved that this time.” Was all Eret said before climbing out of his bed. Hiccup gawked at him while he pulled his shirt over his head. He couldn’t believe how calm he was about the whole situation. This group and their interactions were bizarre and he was beginning to think he’d never figure them out. Then something dawned on him. “This time.”

“How often does she do that to you?” He could picture Astrid coming in several times a week to douse Eret in cold water as a form of revenge. 

“It’s been ages but back in the beginning I was always having something tossed on me. Before we had dug the well water wasn’t easy to access, so most of the time I’d wake up to a faceful of dirt.” Eret looked thoughtful. “After one particularly bad argument though, she threw a bucket of rocks.” He shuddered. “Now that was awful.” 

Hiccup made a mental note to stay on Astrid’s good side by all means possible. He didn’t think he could handle any more head injuries. He watched as his housemate headed towards the door. 

“You coming, mate?”

It seemed he had forgiven Hiccup for last night. “Yeah, I’ll be down in a minute.” Eret nodded and headed down the stairs, the thuds echoing through the thin walls. 

Hiccup needed some time alone to gather his thoughts. The last few days since he had woken up had passed in a whirlwind. He could hardly believe he was taken in by a settlement. One, no less that obviously had some sort of negative interaction with his father, though he hadn’t figured out what that was yet. 

He thought about his talk with Eret last night, before Astrid had come through the door.

“If you’re up to what I think you’re up to, we’re going to have a problem.” Eret looked threatening and Hiccup had felt his throat go dry. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Gods, why couldn’t he be a better liar? He knew exactly what Eret was insinuating, and it wasn’t true. But somehow he knew what he had planned would be of no more comfort to the man with severe trauma. 

Eret shook his head at Hiccup. “I’ve seen beasts like yours before. Only Drago could manufacture something as ungodly as him.” He then switched his eyes over towards Toothless, who was staring back with an innocent air. “He may be friendly, but I know what he was bred to do.” 

Eret then pulled up his shirt so that his pectoral was visible. Hiccup held back his gasp. 

“Drago is a madman. I’m not going to pretend to know your background with him, but you don’t seem like an evil person to me. Whatever he has put you up to, we can help. You don’t have to do what he says.” Eret’s eyes had softened and they searched Hiccup’s intently. 

Just then Astrid came through the door. Her and Eret began talking but Hiccup couldn’t even pretend to listen. He replayed the conversation over in his head until the group of odd friends was dragging him out of the door. 

Hiccup shook his head, forcing his mind back to the present. He then hopped out of bed, with high hopes that the activities for the day would keep his mind occupied. 

—-

A few hours later Hiccup found himself sitting on top of the fence with Astrid, his legs dangling over the edge to the outside world. They were taking the midday watch while the rest of her team was scattered around the township, completing odd and end jobs. They had just finished a border patrol and were sitting near the front, binoculars in hand to look for any movement in the woods beyond. 

He turned towards Astrid, studying her closely. She was gazing straight ahead with a small frown on her face. Her blue eyes were accented by the heavy bags beneath them. He got the feeling that, as leader, she didn’t sleep much. Her long blonde hair was tied into a braid that circled around and landed on her left shoulder. He watched as her fingers played with it mindlessly. 

“I know I’m pretty, but the blatant staring is a little rude.” She kept her eyes straight ahead but a smile tugged at the edge of her lips. 

Hiccup could feel his cheeks redden and he sharply turned his head forward. His mouth felt dry and his replied died in his throat. His social skills were so Thor damned poor after isolation for three years, and Astrid seemed to bring out the worst in them. 

He thinks back to that first touch of hers he could remember. He had watched in slow motion as she reached out in a moment of sympathy, laying her hand on his shoulder. It seered through his thin shirt. It seemed as if he could feel every line of her palm, down to the slight pattern of her fingertips. 

His senses were hypersensitive since he arrived at the township. Voices were too loud, food overwhelmed his taste buds and every touch felt insanely intimate. Astrid’s especially made him feel like he might implode. 

He was practically salivating over her creamy midsection when she’d lifted her shirt and showed him her scar. Forbidden skin, he’d thought. It had been years since another person’s touch had brought him pleasure. In his neediest moments there were only the undead around. And desperate as he sometimes became, necrophilia had never interested him. 

Astrid’s exposed stomach however, was another story. He had to physically fight the urge to bend down and run his tongue over the scar, desperate to taste her. If the food here seemed amazing, he could only imagine the soft supple skin would bring him to his knees. 

Only when she shifted her clothing back down did Hiccup realize how shamelessly he was gawking at her. He tried to say something, anything to distract her from his obvious wanting, but then the kids were waking up and Hiccup thanked the Gods above. He was happier, still to head to dinner and be able to have more than just Astrid to remind him how badly he craved human interaction. 

Hiccup had spent most of the time with Astrid’s friends ogling at their interactions. They were entertaining, and the feeling he got when he was with them vaguely reminded him of when he used to watch movies. He had found himself so engrossed at their banter during dinner that he didn’t even think of speaking. 

Later in the night when Eret was yelling at Astrid he couldn’t help but speak up for her. The words had left his mouth before he even had time to process the consequences of them. But he recognized the look on her face. He could see the guilt. She felt she had let someone down, and to her it was the worst thing she could do. He felt like he understood her better after that. He realized that she was more than just a leader; she was a fixer. She felt obligated to solve everyone else’s problems. What a horrible occupation to have in the apocalypse, he had thought. 

He was roused from his thoughts when Fishlegs sauntered up the steps to the top of the fence. Astrid glanced over her shoulder and gave him a broad smile. Hiccup tried to ignore the way his heart sped up at her carefree expression and decided to aim his gaze at the large man in front of him instead. 

“That time already?” Astrid hopped up quickly, her eyes lighting up with excitement. 

“Ugh, I’m not sure why you guys like combat day so much. It’s completely barbaric.” Fishlegs rolled his eyes and took Astrid’s seat. 

Hiccup gulped. “Did he just say combat day?”

Astrid barked out a laugh. “On Wednesdays we do combat.” She gestured to the woods. “It’s a great skill to have in an apocalyptic world, and we can hardly waste bullets on things we could easily take down with hand-to-hand. Now we have to go before they try and start without us.” Astrid grabbed his wrist, waved goodbye to Fishlegs and then quickly bounced down the stairs, Hiccup following clumsily behind. 

“I haven’t thrown a single fist this entire time.”

“Yeah, and you’ve suffered a life dangering head injury and you’re missing a leg.”

Hiccup stopped in his tracks and put a hand over his heart, feigning hurt. “Way harsh, Astrid.”

She threw her head back in laughter. “Tell you what, you can sit out and watch. I’ll help you out after the normal combat training time. We’ll get you up to speed in no time.” 

Hiccup’s throat tightened at the thought. Astrid, sweaty and her attention completely focused on him. The thought was both enticing and embarrassing. 

“Okay, fine. Only because I only have so many more close calls before my luck completely runs out.” He then let her continue to drag him towards the center of the settlement. 

Hiccup could practically feel the excitement in the air as a group of about 20 people were stretching in preparation to spar. Astrid headed towards her friends, letting Hiccup take a seat in the outskirts of the loose circle the group had formed. He figured it was better to be away from the thick of the action, as his head still wasn't healed. Every morning since he had woken up had been plagued with nausea and sharp headaches. Fishlegs had insisted Hiccup try and take it easy, but he had found nothing about this village that had made him want to relax. 

“Alright guys! Break off into groups of three. Two of you are going to act as partners trying to beat down the third person. We’re working on multi-tasking, and how one person can take down two others.” Astrid spread her arms wide as she addressed the group as a whole. 

Hiccup shouldn’t be surprised that Astrid, queen of post-apocalyptic living, was in charge of combat training. Was there anything this woman couldn’t do?

She beckoned two men forward and Hiccup recognized his roommate and the shorter man- what was his name?

“Snotlout, Eret you guys have one minute to plan an attack at me. I’ll try and counter it and take you both down.” Astrid turned her back toward the men while they whispered conspiratorially. 

Hiccup found that even though he had never enjoyed fighting before, his gaze was locked on the scene before him. With Astrid it looked less like an act of violence and more elegant. Almost like she was dancing instead. She blocked punches and parried blows without breaking a sweat. Within minutes she had brought both men to their knees, Snotlout rubbing at a blooming bruise on his chin. Okay, maybe she made it look violent too. Hiccup was only half-ashamed to admit how arousing the display was.

The two were breathing hard but didn't try to hide the grins on their faces. 

“Okay, you have got to teach me how to do that.” Snotlout was back on his feet, bouncing from side to side with excited energy. 

The next few hours passed in a blur as Hiccup’s eyes followed Astrid around. She moved from group to group, giving pointers and sometimes taking place so she could physically show what should be done. By the end, she had been knocked to the ground several times and had taken more than a few punches. It hardly seemed to effect her at all. 

“Okay guys, that’s enough for today. Next week we begin with weapons, so start thinking what type you’d like to yield!” With that the crowd started dissipating. Astrid headed towards Hiccup, who was still sitting on the ground. She stuck her hand out and gave him an evil grin. 

“Ready to get your ass whooped?”

Hiccup smiled nervously. “Please go easy on me.”

This session was a lot less intense than what he had just witnessed. Astrid showed him fighting stances, how to throw a proper punch and how to block basic blows. Every time she brushed his body to adjust his stance or lower his fist, he felt his heart pick up in speed. In the end, the stimulation was too much. 

“Okay okay, I think I’m good for today.” His skin felt raw and red where he could still feel her touches on him. It was nearing sunset now and the village was alive with life as people moved to finish their chores before bed. The noise seemed deafening. Hiccup could hear his pulse roaring in his ears and there was a metallic taste in his mouth. The ground beneath him lurched and he released a shuddering breath. 

Astrid’s face turned from amused to concerned. “Are you alright?” She reached out to him. 

Hiccup recoiled. “Too much. The noise” He shook his head and placed his hands on his knees. His temples were pounding in time with his thundering heart and his bandages suddenly felt too tight. 

“There’s a tiny alley right around the corner. It will help block out some of the raucous.” She went to grab his hand, but then withdrew. 

He nodded and followed her slowly. When they reached the middle of the alley the sound had lessened slightly. He slid down the wall and pressed his knees to his chest. 

“Better?” Astrid was standing above him, close by but adamantly not touching him, though he could tell by the twitch of her fingers that she desperately wanted to. Instead she reached in her bag and grabbed a skein of water. She offered it to him. 

Hiccup took it with shaking hands. He nodded his head in thanks, not trusting his voice to speak yet. He took a long drawn out sip before letting out an exhale. Astrid was now sitting at his side, leaving a few extra inches between them. He looked at her, noticing how a few strands of her braid had come loose and were hanging around her face. 

“Sorry about, uh, that.” He glanced down. “Everything’s a little bit overwhelming since I got here. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had so much interaction with other people. I guess it’ll take some adjusting.” 

“Assimilation back to human life isn’t easy. I was lucky to always have my friends with me. Sometimes we would go months without seeing other people and I thought I’d go crazy. I can’t imagine being by myself all that time. I don’t think…” Hiccup looked at her then and found her fingers wrapped in her hair once again. He decided he was glad she hadn’t finished that sentence. 

“Thank you for letting me stay. Getting used to other people might not be an easy adjustment, but Gods. I really missed living humans. Things around here, minus the combat training of course, almost seem normal.” Hiccup chanced another internal explosion and moved to put his hand on top of hers, but at the last second thought better of it and reached for her braid.

Astrid looked into his eyes searching them, though he wasn’t sure for what. All he knew was that the look she was giving set him on edge and temporarily caused his brain to stop working. When thoughts started filtering in again, he wanted more than anything to lean in and figure out if her lips were as soft as they looked, but he didn’t think his body could handle it. Instead he indulged by tugging lightly on her hair. 

“How do you keep it so shiny without fancy conditioner?” He decided that later he would seek out duct tape or super glue, anything that could help him permanently seal his mouth shut. 

Astrid blushed furiously and looked down into her lap. “Must be all the sweat and lack of showers. Or maybe the dirt and dust.” She pressed her lips together and Hiccup dropped his eyes to them. She had moved her face closer to him when he’d grabbed her hair and now she was dangerously close. Just a few inches more and he’d slip into the agonizing bliss he’d been dreaming about since he woke up all those days ago. 

But his searing skin was an agitating reminder that he wasn't ready yet. He let go of his hold and pulled back, leaning his head against the wall. 

Before either could say anything about their strange interaction there was a thud as something hit the wall behind them. 

“So not cool, Tuff. A kick to the nads is a dirty move.” Snotlout paused in his reprimands. “Oh my Gods I think I’m going to throw up.” 

“Who cares if it’s dirty? I totally won. Not only did you crash into that hut but I also got to see your face afterwards. It’s a win-win!” Hiccup could hear the tall man’s laughter echo through the camp and he flinched. 

Astrid stood-up and dusted her hands off on her pants. “Let’s get you back to the hut. I’ll bring you something to eat from the dining hall.” 

Hiccup nodded and followed her out of the alley, desperately hoping no one had seen them. He glanced around at the opening and after seeing nothing out of the ordinary, headed towards his home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing this chapter, I hope you guys like it too! Don’t forget to follow me at @hiccupfound on tumblr to get some extra content about the Hiccup Found universe!


	7. Thunder Dome

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Wanted to let you know that chapter updates will be more sparse from here on out. My husband and I just got approved as foster parents so with a new child in the house I won’t have as much time to write! I will still be writing as often as possible though, as I currently have a lot of inspiration for this story. Thanks for understanding and I hope you enjoy!

The next few weeks passed in a whirlwind. Astrid kept herself occupied when a group of six kids had washed up on shore. She was doing her best to assimilate them to township life. The oldest child of the group was 14 years and he reported that their parents had died about a year into the apocalypse. Astrid’s heart wrenched; she could hardly make it through and she was ten years older. This kid was merely eight when he took on the responsibility of raising his siblings. He had managed, but not without great difficulty and sacrifice. 

The kids were mostly detached, only showing emotion when people walked too close to them while they ate or approached them too fast. They never slept on the beds that they were offered, but huddled together in the middle of the floor with one always keeping watch. And lastly, their speech was garbled and hard to understand. They had spent most of their time in silence, afraid any sound would draw the attention of the walkers. They hadn't developed their voices properly and she feared the damage was irreversible. 

Astrid was in pieces when she woke up to find the kids gone. She had never forced anyone to stay, but she feared for their livelihood out in the open world. Even worse, her body was ridden with guilt at the relief she felt when she opened the door to the now empty hut. 

She wanted the kids to stay. She did, really. But at the same time she feared the kids in a way that was hard to describe. They were unpredictable, their behavior more similar to zombie than human. In other ways they reminded her of a wounded animal. Aggressive and scared, yet unwilling to let anyone close enough to help heal them. Deep down, she knew the township wasn't the best place for them. She tried to keep this place as close to normal as possible. For her, normal was going to work, hanging out with friends and coming back to a safe home and warm bed to sleep in. Though she wasn't able to replicate it perfectly, she thought she did a pretty damn good job. 

The kids however, had never really known that life. They had all spent more than half of their time on earth with the zombies. They had barely known going to school, watching tv, laughing and talking carelessly with friends and family. That wasn't normal to them. She realized, after much sulking and denial, the kids had only ever known bare minimum survival tactics. In the end, they were unable to adjust to what the township had to offer. 

In the weeks after the kids left Astrid had kept herself even busier than usual. She threw herself into the township expansion project, building newer and more structurally sound huts, a larger food hall and expanding the fence further out. The township was becoming cramped and moving the fence turned out to be less complicated than she initially thought, thanks to Hiccup. 

He wasn't wrong when he said he was good with tools. He was able to nearly double their weaponry and building materials within the first month he arrived. He had also helped pioneer the idea to expand the township. Astrid had always figured that when they grew to the edges of the fence, that would be it. She would halt her rescue missions and would focus on the people inside the fence more heavily. But when they reached what had been deemed capacity, Astrid was surprised at how much disappointment and anxiety she’d felt. She had spent many sleepless nights pondering the people on the outside world. They deserved safety just as much as the people she currently watched over. It wasn't their fault the township was crowded. If someone approached the fence and needed shelter, would she be able to turn them away?

She felt physically ill at the thought. In the end she found the idea of sleep impossible and had hopped out of bed to head downstairs and to brew a pot of coffee. Lost in her thoughts, she was startled to find Hiccup down there as well, a steaming mug sitting in front of him. 

“Couldn't sleep? Thinking about the kids again?” He passed his mug and grabbed another for himself, pouring the dark liquid slowly. 

Astrid and Hiccup had formed a solid friendship. At this point, he had been at the township for about five weeks. Their bond was based on the time they spent together, both before he gained her trust and after. Since learning that he actually could follow through with his promise of being good with his hands, he had become essential to Astrid’s team. She had been working for ages to improve the state of the village, but truly didn't know where to start. Hiccup had, after much critique to the way they were doing things, given many ideas on how to expedite the process. Wanting to finish the bulk of the renovation before the ice set in, Astrid had become glued to his side, learning his methods and then teaching them to her townspeople. 

“Not the kids, well at least not those specific kids.” She sat down and took a sip from the mug. “I just can't help but shake the feeling I shouldn't be closing off the township.”

“Maybe you're just too scared to focus on your people and yourself.” Hiccup lifted a brow at her.

Astrid rolled her eyes. “No, that's definitely part of it.” She wasn't dense, she knew how emotionally unavailable she was and she totally used the outside world as a distraction. “It's more than that though. Those people out there, they just need safety. If I hadn't made the township so small then I would be able to offer them that.” She watched as Hiccup spun his mug absentmindedly in his hands, his eyes remaining firmly on her face. 

“If you truly feel that way, why don't you expand the fence?” 

Astrid’s head snapped up. “That's an option?”

Hiccup gave a soft laugh. “Of course it is. Here,” he grabbed a piece of paper off the counter behind him and looked towards her, green eyes piercing her soul. “Do you have a pencil nearby?”

That night they stayed up until the sun had set again, bent over their plans on the table, discussing the best course of action. Once the plans on the construction had begun, she had put Hiccup in charge of execution. She trusted him with this, and so far he had proven to have an excellent vision. 

 

Now, about three weeks after that long night spent drawing out his ideas, the construction was complete and they had nearly doubled the size of the township. She was buzzing with excitement as she headed to the combat zone, which was one of the newest additions to the township. She was eager to meet up with the townspeople and celebrate, but first she had a deal to upkeep. 

The combat zone was set off to the back right of the township. It was modeled to resemble a fighting arena from the era of Greece and Rome. It was large and circular, with the roof opening up to reveal the sky above them. The walls were high and the space was huge, allowing combat Wednesday's to run smoothly.

She had kept up on her promise for private lessons with Hiccup. After the nearly two months of him being here, he had shown a lot of improvement. Though she knew him to be more of a tactical type, it turned out to be an advantage during combat. He was analytical during battle, able to predict her moves before she made them sometimes. It allowed him to land a few punches, and more than once she had found her feet swept out from under her. But his hand was always there, offering her help up before they continued their sparring match. 

When she arrived he was already there, arms above his head as he attempted to stretch. 

“Hello m’lady, are you ready to get your ass whooped? I've been practicing and I think today is the day.”

Astrid rolled her eyes and dismissed him with a wave of her hand. “That's what you said last week, and if I recall correctly you were the one that went home with a black eye.”

Hiccup frowned. “That's totally not fair. You know I'm near sighted and you always use that to your advantage. It's not my fault the glasses business died out with the start of the apocalypse.”

Astrid pouted, sticking out her lower lip. “Excuses will only get you killed. Rely on your other senses to guide you if your vision fails you.” An idea popped into her head and an evil grin appeared on her face. 

Hiccup’s eyes widened. “Whatever you're thinking, the answer is no.”

Astrid turned towards her bag and pulled out a thin, hole-y shirt. She ripped it into several pieces and then handed a shred to Hiccup. He looked at it hesitantly. 

She was giddy with excitement. “Blindfolded combat.” She raised her own tattered piece to her eyes, tying it tightly behind her head. She then cocked her head to the side, jumping up and down happily when she heard his exasperated sigh. 

She reached out to him, found his shoulders and gave them a hard squeeze. “Okay, now take your sparring stance. She heard dirt crunching beneath him as his foot and prosthetic shifted. 

Great, now when I take my arms off of you, I want you to try and reach out and punch me.” She dropped her hands and listened closely to his movements. 

She felt the whoosh of air as his fist passed dangerously close to her cheek. “Not bad for the first time, but you missed. Listen to where my voice is and try again.”

This time Astrid found herself taking a step back to dodge his blow. “Now tell me why you missed that time.”

Hiccup’s pause felt endless without the ability to see the thought process in his eyes. Eventually though he answered, “you moved out of the way.”

Astrid felt a smile work its way across her mouth. “Exactly. Now try and hit me again.” 

She heard him take a step forward and Astrid parried to the right. His weight shifted, causing his metal leg squeak, letting her know that he was shifting around to face her head on. Once again she felt the air as his hit missed her temple by a fraction of an inch, her hair blowing in the wind it stirred up. 

Hiccup groaned. “You're too fast for me, I'm never gonna land a blow. “

Astrid considered this. “Fair enough, maybe we should start with a smaller task.” She took a step forward and grabbed his wrist. She brought it up to her cheek and laid his palm there gently. 

She heard Hiccup’s breath hitch and she hoped the heat rising to her cheeks wasn't transferring to him. “Explore. Use your hands to learn me. Listen to my movements, try and visualize without your eyes.” More than anything she wanted to take her blindfold off and read his expressive face. Was she crossing a line? Was this too much stimulation for him?

After a moment his hand shifted from her cheek, his fingers lightly skating her as they made their way down to her jaw. He cupped it firmly for a moment his thumb lightly stroking the skin below her earlobe. 

Astrid’s heart doubled in speed. This is bad, she thought. This was a bad idea. Why would she do this? Why didn't she realize this would be so sensual? Why did his calloused fingers feel so amazing? 

Her racing mind shut off as he shifted once more, moving across her jaw line and landing on her lips. Her breath skipped as he once again paused. He then moved his thumb back and forth along her bottom lip, shifting to her top lip to do the same. 

She listened to him intently, eager to focus on anything besides his touch that made her skin feel too hot. She heard his breathing coming out in quiet pants, the sound only serving to set her even more on edge. 

After what felt like an eternity he moved down to her neck, squeezing it lightly as he switched his hand placement and laid his palm on her throat, fingers wrapping around it firmly. He then shifted to the other side and moved until it was resting on her shoulder, the heel of his palm caressing her collarbone. 

He then abruptly withdrew his hand and she could hear rustling as he pulled off his blindfold. She could feel his eyes on her but she wasn't convinced she was going to be able to look into his eyes without imploding. When he said nothing though, she struggled with the tie at the back of her head until his piercing gaze came into view. 

His hair was wild, as if he had been running his hands through it. He was giving her a look she didn't quite understand and his pupils were blown, as if the eye doctor still existed and he had just had them dilated. She wanted to make a nearsighted joke, but the mood didn't feel right. 

“Sorry,” he eventually croaked, his voice sounding husky. “I just.. needed my sight back for a minute.”

Astrid nodded slightly, unsure what to say. Her fingers twitched as the urge to put her hands on Hiccup became unbearable. “One more hand to hand before we end for the night.” She licked her lips. “Up to you if you want to do it blindfolded.”

Hiccup raised his eyebrows at her, probably trying to figure out if her double meaning was on purpose. She wasn't sure herself. She felt her pulse quicken as he lifted the blindfold back to his eyes. She followed his lead and then took a step forward. 

“Ready?” She moved her feet into a fighting stance. 

“Let's do this.”

Hiccup threw the first punch, aiming lower this time than he had previously. The end of his fist lightly grazed her chin and she took a quick step back to avoid further damage. She waited for him to make the next move. This time, he aimed for the side of her head and the hair on her neck stood up as he came within an inch of her ear. She spun around him and threw a fist harshly into his back. She withdrew a step back before once again throwing a hit, this time landing with his jaw. He let out a shuddered breath and she heard his weight shift. She switched to the right and lifted her leg to kick him. She landed a satisfying blow to his midsection and was too busy planning her next strike to pay adequate attention to his movements. She gasped as his hand wrapped around her calf and he twisted, spinning her around until she was on the ground, landing on her stomach with a soft “oof” escaping her lips. 

Her hands were poised to push off and stand back up when his foot pushed her deeper into the ground. She heard him chuckle as he pulled her blindfold from her head. She so desperately wanted to turn onto her back and scowl at him, and he must have known because he kept his foot there for a moment longer. 

When he released her and she turned, she saw a face filled with delight and a hand stretched out to help her up. She slapped it away and pulled herself to a standing position. 

“Rematch. Next week. Bring the damn blindfold.” She started walking out of the arena and when he didn't follow she turned around. 

“Well are you coming? We have a celebration to attend, you know.” Her heart fluttered lightly at the toothy smile as he jogged to catch up. She noticed a large bruise blooming on his chin and suddenly she felt less angry. 

“I can't wait to let everyone know I just beat you up blindfolded.” He paused. “Just maybe not in those exact words.” 

Astrid rolled her eyes. “Don't get too cocky, Haddock. The odds of that happening again are slim.”

“Doesn't matter. Once is all I need, because I know it'll irritate you endlessly.” 

Astrid grumbled angrily but didn't reply. They walked towards the firepit that was roaring with life in the center of town. The sounds of voices filtered in and out as they headed towards the heart of the activity. By the side of the flames Astrid could see her friends, holding mugs and laughing loudly. 

“No way. You guys pulled out the alcohol for this?” She sat down by Eret and snatched the cup out of his hand. She took a deep sip and then shook her head violently. 

“Gods! That is strong stuff. I hope you put someone in charge of monitoring the villager’s intake.” 

Snotlout laughed before answering. “Don't worry, Fishlegs has it handled. Babe, come have a dance with me.” His words were slightly slurred and his cheeks were flushed all the way down to his chest. He attempted to rise from his seat, but was pushed down roughly by Astrid. 

She threw a glare in Eret’s direction. “The sun has barely gone down and Snot’s already so drunk he forgot music doesn’t exist anymore. You're supposed to be keeping an eye on them.”

Eret merely gave her a shrug before stealing his mug back. “Let loose for just two minutes and I promise you won’t regret it.” He swayed slightly from side to side and had a dazed look on his face. 

Astrid’s eyes widened. “Seriously? You’re wasted too? So who’s been in charge while I was away?” Eret was always her number two when it came to leadership. But there was nothing more reckless than a drunk man who took his duties too seriously. 

Astrid gave her other friends a steely glance. “Who here is sober?” 

No one would look her in the eye. Ruff and Tuff were trying, very poorly, to hold back laughter and Heather was glancing at her shoes as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. 

Astrid let out a frustrated groan as she collected their mugs. They all whined loudly and Astrid silenced them with a wave of her hands. 

“Trust me, you guys will thank me later for this. You’re all plenty drunk.” She raised one of the mugs. “Don’t you remember making this? How strong it is? How little alcohol we consume? No way, you’re all cut off.” She sighed loudly. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to find Fish to inform him.” She turned towards Hiccup. “Come on, trust me you don’t want to be around this lot when they’re like this.” 

When they were further away from the fire she handed him two mugs. “Drink up, you earned it.” She continued to the edge of the chaos, where she found Fishlegs with the barrel of alcohol by his side and a clipboard in his hand.

“Don’t worry Astrid, I have this under control. Enjoy yourself, you’ve earned it.” He gave her a genuine smile. 

“Thanks Fish, I just wanted to let you know that the team is cut off. I expect they snuck some extra drinks behind your back because there’s no way you would let them get that drunk, right?”

The panic in his eyes was quickly masked as he replied, “no drunker than I’ll let you and Hiccup get.” He glanced at the several mugs in their hands. “That should get you two through the night.” 

Astrid sneered. “I can’t get drunk because someone has to take care of those children!” She wasn’t referencing the actual kids, but her group of bumbling idiots that probably wouldn’t be able to make their way back to the hut. 

Fishlegs put his hands out in a calming motion. “Look, I’ve got them, okay? There’s only so much damage they can do within the township and the person on fence duty has strict instructions to not let anyone out tonight. And if I need you then, I’ll come get you.”

Astrid thought about it for a moment. She had been looking forward to tonight to burn off a little stress, and he did have a point. 

“Okay. But if anything happens to them, it’s on your hands and you’ll come get me immediately to fix it.” She studied him carefully, being sure her point was made. 

“Anything you say, chief.” He gave her a thumbs up and then shooed her off. 

She looked at Hiccup, who had taken to studying her and Fishleg’s interaction. “Let’s get out of here?” She grabbed his wrist before he could answer and they were headed away from the light of the fire.


	8. Explosive secrets

Hiccup

A few hours later Hiccup found himself sitting against the cold wall of an alley, a drunk Astrid laying upside down with her legs straight above her pressed against the brick. Her cheeks are colored red from intoxication and the laughter that kept spilling from her lips. 

“No, seriously. Snotlout went to kiss her but he couldn’t reach so he grabbed a stool-”

“No way. Even he would know better than that.”

“A stool. He thought it was the best course of action. Needless to say he didn’t get lucky that night.” Her hand was over her mouth as she attempted to contain her giggles. 

“Gods, this feels eerily normal. Two young drunk adults discussing their prom night.” Hiccup shook his head, his cheeks sore from the constant smile Astrid had kept on his face. 

“You’re not drunk though.” Astrid pointed a slender finger to his two full mugs of mead. 

He shrugged guiltily. “You got me. I’m not much of a drinker.” He paused. “Do you ever think about it? Life if the zombies hadn’t taken over?” 

Astrid frowned and her blue eyes looked at him thoughtfully. “This might sound crazy but I don’t… I don’t think I could have ever truly been me without the apocalypse.”

Hiccup gave her an incredulous look and she shook her head. 

“I know what you’re thinking, that I sound happy that the virus came and killed nearly everyone I loved. That’s not what I mean. It’s more like..” her eyes looked over his face, searching for the correct words to convey her feelings. 

She sat up suddenly, swaying slightly but looking determined. 

“I like combat Wednesday’s. I like swinging my axe, whether it be to cut down trees or just throwing it to get my frustrations out. I love my township and I love my people. I love being a leader in this fashion. Fast decisions, life or death. People looking towards me for safety and shelter and livelihood. It feels like I was meant to do this.” She stops and glances down at her hands. 

“How would any of that helped me before? In the world of politics where everything is so much more complicated, but at the same time simpler. All the skills I have right now, they wouldn’t benefit me in that world. And if I’m being honest, I wasn’t happy there.” 

“But maybe you could have been.” He bent his head down so that her eyes met his. 

She gave him a small smile. “You’re probably right. I’m a smart and strong woman. I would have made it work. But all my favorite things I just told you about, they’re barbaric. I couldn’t use them before. I feel like I came into my element afterwards. And my friends knew it, too. They looked towards me for leadership and I just knew I had to provide, so I did. And I never want to stop.”

Hiccup thought on that for a moment. He could see the point Astrid was making. If anyone could manage to excel at post-apocalyptic living, it would be Astrid. In just seven years she had managed to build a township, expand it and allow her people to feel safe. Not only that, but she was ready to take in even more. He tried to picture her wild demeanor in a business setting, her long hair tied into a neat bun. It was hard to envision, and he had to admit the thought made him a little sad. Astrid was such a free spirit, it was difficult to see her in a world with so much rigidity. 

“I get it. But what if you could go back and stop that first bite? Would you do it?” His curiosity was peaked by her strange answer. 

“What-If scenarios are dangerous. In this day and age you can never look back and wonder. You just have to roll with it, or else you suffocate under the possibilities.” She looked thoughtful for a moment before leaning over Hiccup and grabbing the mug closest to his side. 

He tore it from her hands before she took a sip. “I’m pretty sure you’ve had enough.” He looked her up and down, taking in her flushed face and her messy hair. She was about two sips from too drunk and he wasn’t about to let that happen. 

Astrid let out a whine but didn’t protest. He watched as she shifted to sit directly in front of him, her folded knees bumping his lightly as she attempted to squeeze comfortably into the narrow alleyway. She then imitated his position and sat criss-cross. She lent her chin on her palm and looked toward him thoughtfully. 

“You’ve been hiding something since you got here.” Hiccup froze at her words. They weren’t accusing, just stating a fact. She didn’t seem to notice his apprehension. 

“I saw it the first time we spoke. I’ve known this whole time that you’ve been keeping something from me. I thought about kicking you out because of it, but that didn’t feel right. I knew you’d tell me in time.” She put a hand on his knee and looked deeply into his eyes. 

“But you haven’t told me. And I think Eret knows. I’m not sure which bothers me more. Maybe I’m irritated because I haven’t figured it out myself. I don’t know exactly.” She was now leaning her elbows on his thighs, her face just a few inches below his, eye line even with his lips. Her closeness wasn’t helping his thought process. 

She leant up suddenly, moving to straddle his lap. She had a dreamy look in her eyes and an evil smile spread across her face. 

“That’s fine, if you don’t want to tell me then I’ll just occupy myself until you do.” 

Hiccup’s hands went to her waist automatically as he felt her tongue on his neck, warm and wet and oh so appealing. She made a slow, teasing trail from his collarbone to his jawline and Hiccup suppressed the urge to moan. 

Astrid moved her lips back down and began kissing a slow line back up. Hiccup wished she would stop so he could try and think what to say. Any other day this would be his greatest dream coming true, but right now his stomach roiled with guilt as his lust-filled brain attempted to replay her words in his head. 

He was hiding something. Did he tell Eret? He wasn’t sure anymore, not with Astrid’s lips drawing closer to his mouth. Her kisses fighting violently to silence his loud thoughts. For a second he thought she would win, but as she leaned in, he turned his face and put a hand over her mouth. He sighed, knowing fully well he’d regret this later. 

“Maybe we should talk back at the hut.” He couldn’t turn his face back to stare at her; he wasn’t ready to see the betrayal in her eyes. He felt her clumsily climb off his lap and he waited a minute longer before standing, praying for the blood to evenly distribute itself once more. 

He didn’t know what he was going to say to her. Did he tell her the full truth or just part of it? At this point an outright lie didn’t seem like such a bad idea, even if she would know immediately he wasn’t telling the truth. Maybe if he played his cards right he could pretend he just wanted a more comfortable place to kiss her. Deep down though, he knew that wouldn’t work. The mood had shifted and when he looked up, the tension in her shoulders showed that she was prepared for the worst. 

“I’m too drunk for this.” Her words were slurred and Hiccup realized she wasn’t just saying that to complain; she really meant it. She wasn’t in her right mind to deal with a serious issue with her usual sharp intellect. 

Hiccup nodded while he shoved his legs under him and forced himself into a standing position. 

“Let’s go back and get you some coffee. When you’re ready, let me know and I’ll tell you.” He couldn’t lie about the relief he felt at the delay. Maybe now he could actually plan something out, make it sound less serious than it is. 

—-

When they arrived at home, Toothless was at the door to greet them. Hiccup gave him a soft pat while Astrid sat down at the table with a huff. She folded her hands and stared blankly at them before looking up nervously. 

“I need an hour.” 

Hiccup nodded, feeling awkward and unsure what to do in that time. He moved towards the cupboards to grab a mug for coffee and hoped time would speed up infinitely. 

“Eret doesn’t know. I mean, he knows something is up but he never pressed me to tell him exactly what it is. I’m not sure why, because he of all people has every reason to not trust me because of what he does know.” He doesn’t know why he’s talking when she just said she needed an hour, but suddenly the truth feels suffocating and he can't stop the word vomit from falling out. 

“I didn't know what was going to happen after my axe injury, which by the way I didn't lie about, it just ties into the story more than I originally led on.” He figured he could probably spend the next hour talking around the story and then when Astrid deemed herself ready, he would tell her the whole truth. Because that's what she deserves. The past two months he'd spent staring after her longingly and trying to spend all his time with her now felt tainted. 

He was always okay with chasing after the idea of Astrid, dreaming about her soft skin under his body, but never allowing himself to touch it the way he wanted to. He kept telling himself that he would confess eventually and then he could be with her the way his body desperately craved. He crossed a line today while they were training and he knew it the second she put his hand to his cheek. He was so proud of himself for pulling back, for taking off the blindfold and not falling under the intoxicating spell that her warm skin was emanating. 

Astrid wasn't reacting to his incessant babbling the way she usually did and that caused a sweat to break out on his hands. Was she already mad? Maybe she already knew and she was playing dumb, testing him. Or maybe she wanted to humiliate him before she kicked him out. Or, or maybe she had a herd of walkers that her team was bringing in and they'd leave him to be slowly torn limb from limb. He felt nauseous. 

“I can just leave.” He had started pacing and only now realized it. “I can leave and never come back and never bother you guys again. I can leave and scout the perimeter and make sure every kid gets to the camp.” Toothless whined and began following behind him, apparently unable to take his anxiety anymore. 

Astrid looked up at him for the first time. “Okay, first I'm going to need you to sit down. And next you're going to tell me why you're all twitchy, but do it slowly because I'm more drunk than I'd like to be for this, but clearly you have a serious case of word vomit, so go ahead and tell me.” Her voice had a sharpness to it that he doesn't hear often. Astrid is a pretty mild tempered person, but clearly she was already starting to feel irritated. 

Hiccup threw himself down into the nearest chair, sitting across from Astrid, where he would have more time to run away if she decided to start punching. He looked up and found her steely gaze guarded once again. Hiccup swallowed roughly against the thickness in his throat. He didn't know when she began trusting him, just that one day he woke up to find the house empty and no one waiting outside. When he went and found Astrid to ask about it she had dismissed him quickly. 

“No one has the time to babysit you anymore, Hiccup. Go find something useful to do before I put you on bathroom duty.” She turned on her heel and was gone before he could even process what her words meant. 

No one was keeping tabs on him anymore. Astrid was okay with him on his own. That meant something. After the initial excitement had faded, he was overwhelmed by a wave of guilt. 

He shook his head, coming back to the present. Astrid was still looking at him expectantly and he hesitated even further, unsure where to start. He glanced over at Toothless. 

“You asked me what Toothless was and I told you I thought he was a wolf.” He folded and unfolded his hands nervously. 

“Yeah and I laughed in your face.”

Hiccup nodded. “Right, but I didn't lie to you. I did think he was a wolf. Eventually I got confirmation of that. Toothless was born as a normal sized pup. But something- someone happened.” Hiccup chanced a look up at her, seeing if she knew where he was headed. She was silent and her stony face was hard to read. He took a deep breath and pressed on. 

“Toothless was injured when I found him. He was weak and bleeding badly and as soon as I saw him I knew he was important. I nursed him back to health and we created a bond that I'd never felt before. I've had dogs and I've loved them all, but this was different.” Hiccup paused, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. This was starting to feel more personal than he had wanted. His bond with Toothless was indescribable and trying to put it into words felt like a disservice to him. 

“He grew so fast. Faster than any weed, maybe even faster than the virus spread. With him by my side, I felt safe to leave my dad’s township.” His voice cracked as he said the last words. He hated thinking about his dad and how the outbreak had changed him. He had wanted to leave so many times, but he knew he wouldn't survive. At this point the herds were large and fast. People outside of townships had nearly no chances of surviving. After a few years, Hiccup was ready to risk death, but he somehow knew that Toothless wouldn't let anything happen.

“The first time I was cornered by zombies, I watched in awe as Toothless scared them away. He only killed the ones who lingered too closely, the rest he… ordered away.” He couldn't think of another word for it; it was like he was communicating with them. He wasn't going to risk sounding crazy and saying that out loud, but that's what he witnessed. 

I got cocky after a few more of those situations. I stopped paying attention to where I was going, just eager to feel free and explore. That's when we got too close to a township out west.” He could feel his heart speeding up in his chest and he noticed Astrid’s fingers curling into a tight fist. She was figuring out where this was headed. 

“I wasn't trying to get their attention, but I passed by too closely and their guards caught a glimpse of a scrawny boy with a giant animal that looked all too familiar. I was taken in roughly, blindfold over my face and chains around my hands.” The nervous energy thrumming through his veins turned into a pounding in his head right where his scar was. 

“When I was able to see again, I was greeted by a giant, scarred man. He was surrounded by giant beasts that looked suspiciously familiar.” 

Astrid gasped, finally putting all the pieces together. “Toothless is a Drago creation?” She hit her hand against her forehead dramatically. “Gods, of course he is. That makes so much sense. I'd never seen his creatures before but..” She looked over at Toothless, who was walking in circles around the table, clearly nervous. 

“Drago wanted him back, obviously. He was under the impression that I had stolen Toothless from him all those years ago. He was even more excited to have me after he realized I was a Haddock.” Hiccup shuddered as Drago’s sharp laughter replayed in his head. “I was locked up for a few days before Toothless was able to break me out. Before we reached the gate, a very drunk man who apparently hated my father tried to behead me.” He pointed up to his healed injury and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. 

“So you were on the run from Drago when I found you.” Astrid was no longer looking at him, instead she was staring at the contents of her mug while she spun it absentmindedly. 

“When I first woke up I was so afraid you guys would somehow know and would turn me into him. Then when I realized you didn't know, I made a point to not tell you, just in case you would turn me in after you found out.” This was the part he was most nervous about, explaining why he had held back the whole truth for so long. Astrid had trusted him, and he had put the entire township in danger, without telling her. 

“I get why you didn't tell me initially, I guess.” She spoke slowly, as if she was considering her words carefully. “But why would you never tell us at all?”

Hiccup hesitated, unsure where to start. “At first I had convinced myself that once I was healed I would leave. The day the bandages came off though we were just beginning to really develop your tools and weapons. I couldn't leave then. And everyday after that I had an excuse. It took me ages to accept that I just didn't want to leave.” And even longer to admit that he had never really planned on leaving at all. 

Astrid didn't reply, just stared angrily at the table. 

“I know I should have told you. I know my presence causes danger to your township. But the longer I waited, the harder it became for me to say anything. After a few weeks here and no news from Drago, I thought maybe he wouldn't do anything.”

Astrid looked up for the first time in what felt like ages and her glare made him flinch. “Stupid assumptions like that will get more than just you killed.”

“I made excuses for my actions because I was scared of this. I didn't want to break your trust-”

“You broke my trust the minute you decided to not tell me the whole truth. Now I'm learning that at any second a crazy man and his mutant animals could come bursting through and wipe out everything that I've worked so hard for.” Her nostrils were flaring and when she lifted her hands to push hair out get eyes, he could see they were shaking. 

“I should go. I'll leave tonight while everyone's drunk and no one will notice. If Drago comes here you can tell him you saw me traveling to the north.” He couldn't watch her hurt expression anymore. He just needs to leave before the betrayal truly sunk in. 

Astrid shook her head and threw her hands in front of her, signaling for him to stop what he was doing. “Leave and go where? Why would you leave right now? It's like 2 AM.”

Hiccup knitted his eyebrows together. “I broke your trust, don't you want me gone?”

Astrid moved as if to speak, but then the door burst open and Eret stumbled in, hitting the door jam roughly. Ruffnut followed close behind and Hiccup’s mouth dropped as they locked into a passionate embrace, apparently unaware of their audience. 

Astrid scoffed and rolled her eyes. “No, no absolutely not. You are not in your right mind to pull out in time and I will not be delivering any babies.” She grabbed Eret by the ear and pulled roughly, gesturing towards the stairs. 

“Go to your room and take care of it yourself. You and Ruffnut can have gross sloppy sex when you're hungover in the morning.” Her glare could probably melt ice, but Eret was too drunk to notice. 

“Jealous, are you? You know you can have a piece of this anytime.” Astrid moved as if to slap him but hesitated as he swayed on his feet. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and pointed to the stairs once more. “Bed. Now. Good night.”

Hiccup let out a relieved breath when Eret clumsily climbed the stairs and heard the door slam. She looked over at Hiccup briefly before walking over to a now crying Ruffnut. 

“You're on babysitting duty, make sure he doesn't sneak out. No one will be having sex in this house if I have anything to do with it, but I'm sure they'll put up a fight.” Ruffnut confirmed this as she tried to run through Astrid, crying and screaming when she grabbed hold of her shoulders. Hiccup only had a moment to acknowledge the irony of him babysitting another member of their group. 

“You're not my mom, you can't do this. I can bang whoever I want whenever I want.” Ruffnut had at some point taken Astrid's hold as a hug and tightened the embrace around her waist. 

Astrid looked close to her breaking point as she lightly pat Ruffnut's back. She looked back at Hiccup and he could feel the anger waves wafting off her. 

“Go to your room, Hiccup! Don't make me tell you again. We’ll figure out a plan to for Drago tomorrow; can't you see I have my hands full here?”

Hiccup didn't miss what she was implying. He gave her a small salute and ran up the stairs, mentally kicking himself for his departure. 

She was going to let him stay, for now at least. She was going to help him keep Toothless safe. 

He was going to make it up to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really thought I was only going to do one chapter from Hiccup’s POV but man I LOVE his chaotic dumb bitch energy so much so there will probably be more to come


	9. Hungover Nightmare

Astrid struggled more than she would like to admit with carrying two buckets from the well back to the hut. She tried her best not to spill any water on the stairs, but she filled both buckets to the brim and couldn't stop the sloshing drops from trickling down to the floor below. Still, when she opened the door to find the two sleeping boys that she's furious with, she knows it was all worth it. 

She pauses to set the buckets down, trying to decide who should get their karma first. She weighs her options carefully. If she does Eret first then he’ll get to listen to her call out Hiccup’s bullshit, and then maybe he’ll be just as mad at him as she is. But then again, as hungover as Eret is probably going to be, she really would rather not hear him vomiting. She picks up a bucket and heads to Hiccup’s bedside. 

His frightened gasp when the cold water hits his head is more satisfying than she could have imagined. The confusion in his eyes even gets a small laugh out of her. He's breathing heavy and she watches as realization dawns on his face before turning and picking the second bucket up. 

Eret’s reaction is much less exciting, as it seems he's too hungover to even react further than a small groan. When she shoves his shoulder harshly, he lifts his head, squinted eyes peering through her. 

She throws the bucket into his lap harshly. “Start vomiting before I leave and you'll regret it.” She looks over at Hiccup, who at this point just looks guilty in his sopping t-shirt. 

“Both of you better be downstairs in five minutes, I have two more buckets if you aren't.” She stomps out loudly, hoping to intensify Eret’s hangover for just a moment more. She smiles widely after the door closes and she hears him retching. 

It hadn't been two minutes before the boys clambered down the stairs, both looking wet and nervous. 

Eret glanced behind her and frowned. “I told him you didn't have any other buckets, but he wouldn't listen.” She watched as he reached up and rubbed his temples slowly, eyes closed. 

She snapped her fingers in front of his face roughly. “Wake up, we have important matters to discuss.”

The dirty look that crossed his face gave her a mild shock. Eret is never upset with her punishment tactic, he's always known she has her reasons. 

“What in the Hel did I do to earn the bucket this morning?”

Astrid glanced at Hiccup, who had taken purchase at the table and was watching their interactions closely. He snorted at Eret’s words but didn't comment when the confused expression turned on him. 

Astrid attempted a harsh look. “If you didn't get so rip roaring drunk then maybe you would remember. Also, maybe you would have never tried to throw yourself at me while simultaneously taking Ruff up to your bed!” Her palm twitched with the slap she held back last night, but she once again refrained. 

Eret’s mouth open and closed three times before he turned to Hiccup. “What did he do?”

“That's what we're here to discuss. I needed you here to help figure out a plan.” She was never one to stay mad at Eret, especially since she always had a punishment up her sleeve. Last night he crossed a line, and she would like to have more time to be angry and ignore him, but she couldn't afford to be childish right now. 

“Plan for what?” Toothless bounded down the stairs right then, long tongue hanging out of his mouth as he stared at his owner with loving eyes. 

Astrid gestured towards the beast. “You could have told me you recognized him. This is going to be a complicated raid and now we have even less time to figure out how to do it.” 

Eret looked down at his hands. “Tell me the full story.”

Astrid almost felt bad as she watched Hiccup retell his journey. She wasn't sober enough last night to see how frightened he looked, how his eyes lit up when he mentioned Toothless, or the fact that he might be just as fucked up as the rest of them. She was still mad at him of course, but she did feel a twinge of empathy when he had finished. 

“So if Drago finds out he's here, we're all dead.” Eret ran his hands through his hair and for the first time in years Astrid spotted genuine fear. She wished she could leave him out of this, wished he wouldn't have to relive his worst days. But this was the end of the world and there was only so much emotional protection she could provide without putting everyone’s lives on the line. 

“Exactly, so we have to figure out how to take him out first.”

Hiccup looked at her for only the second time since he came downstairs. “You're trying to defend me?”

She paused and considered all the thoughts that had run through her head while she tossed and turned all night. 

“What you did… it was stupid and selfish. But it wasn't betrayal.” She looked down at his hands on the table and her palms itched with the urge to hold them. “You weren't plotting against us, you just got unlucky and were afraid to tell us.”

Eret looked back and forth between the two before standing up. “I need some time to think about this. To… bring forth memories I've long since shut away.” He looked nauseous, and even though he was hungover she felt like his churning stomach was more her fault than anything. 

She stood and reached for him, dropping her hand when he stepped closer to the door. “You don't have to do that. Your expertise at strategizing for battle will be enough.” Her voice was strained and the lie sounded weak even to her own ears.

“We both know that's not why you decided to tell me like this. I have inside information and you need it.” His voice shook and he stormed out the door before she could respond. 

She looked over at Hiccup, the damp hair hanging in his eyes not managing to shelter his pained expression. 

“I'm sorry about all of this. I should just go, I've caused enough problems and I have a feeling Eret reliving his trauma is going to be one of the worst.” Astrid could practically feel the guilt coming off him as he fidgeted with his fingers and his metal leg jiggled restlessly. 

An unexpected wave of annoyance passed through her. “You've done enough, really Hiccup. Stop with the self pitying bull shit.” She stood and slammed her hands onto the table, suddenly furious at the man’s dense point of view. 

“This is so much bigger than just you. Yeah, whatever, you waited too long to tell me but that's not the point anymore. We're a target whether you're here or not. Drago leaves a path of chaos and death wherever he goes, and if he comes here we will die just because he has the ability to do it.”

Hiccup cast his eyes down and nodded silently. Astrid put a hand to her throbbing head and glanced towards the stairs. She didn't want to be alone with Hiccup right now, not after last night. She knew Heather and Ruff were upstairs and waking up the grumpy girls seemed much more appealing than staring angrily at Hiccup’s lips that she got so close to not even twelve hours before. 

“I'm gonna go wake everyone else up. You…” She paused, finger pointing at him falling to her side as she registered his crumpled face. “Just don't leave the camp.” She turned and bound up the stairs before he could react. She wanted more time to be mad and his sad gaze was making it hard

The door creaked loudly as it swung open, but her roommates didn’t stir. Soft snores hit her ears and the stillness of the room felt stifling. She climbed into Ruffnutt’s bed and curled against her warm body, attempting to line up her breathing with the steady heartbeat of her companion.

She laid still for a moment, attempting to gather her thoughts passed her aching hangover, though she felt she hid it better than Eret. 

Her stomach soured when she thought of her drunken seduction moves. It’s not that she felt like Hiccup rejected her, even in her hazy state she knew he was enjoying himself. It’s more that she hadn’t realized she had wanted to kiss Hiccup until she was already straddling his lap. 

She sat up and gently shook Ruff’s shoulder, the need to talk out her fuzzy night outweighing her politeness. 

When Ruffnut let out a pained groan Astrid moved to Heather’s bed and shoved her roughly. Heather was a much heavier sleeper and this was the only method she had found any success with. 

“I need at least 5 hours more of sleep, Astrid. Come back when the suns higher in the sky.” Astrid watched with vague irritation as Heather flipped, turning her back towards the door. 

“It’s not my fault you only came in three hours ago. Now wake up, we need to talk.” She glanced over to the other girl, who was sitting up with her head in her hands. 

“Can’t talk. Headache bad. Need rest.” Ruff’s tangled hair was wrapped around her wrist and she winced when she turned to look at Astrid. 

Astrid considered going downstairs and grabbing them coffee, but then she remembered Hiccup could be there and her insides twisted. Instead she’d try something just as effective as caffeine. 

“I tried to seduce Hiccup into telling me his secrets last night.” She’s not sure why she says tried, because it was a complete success. Maybe she doesn’t want to brag. Maybe she’s more than a little disappointed that it worked. 

Heather’s sheets ruffled as she got out of her bed and climbed onto Ruffnut’s. Astrid was looking down, picking at the dirt underneath her nails, but she could still feel Heather’s gaze boring into the side of her head. 

“I think you’re gonna have to start from the beginning.” Her green eyes were ablaze as the drowsiness lifted. 

“His secret. He has- had a secret and I was drunk and I wanted to know and he told me.” She looked between the two girls. “It’s bad. Maybe not as bad as it could have been, but still bad enough.”

She tried to explain Hiccup’s story but it felt jagged and broken coming out of her. After a few failed attempts she dragged her companions down the stairs, relieved to find Hiccup still sitting at the table. 

She threw herself into a chair and attempted to sound demanding when she spoke. “Tell them.” 

When he opened his mouth, Astrid’s palms began to sweat and the urge to leave was overwhelming. She stood and forced herself to walk slowly to the door, to look like she wasn’t fleeing. Once it had shut behind her however, she let her feet pound into the ground as fast as they would go, only stopping when she found the person she was looking for. 

Eret was sat at the top of the fence, toward the combat arena corner. He didn’t move when she climbed up and landed beside him. 

“I keep thinking that there are going to be a thousand beasts on the horizon if I look away.” His hair that was normally neatly pulled back fell loose around his face. Astrid reached up and retied it for something to do while her mind remained blank. 

“I remember the day I escaped that hell hole. The zombs were everywhere and I knew my injury would kill me if I wasn’t bit first. But seeing the open sky for the first time after all those years… I knew my painful death would be a mercy compared to another second behind those gates.”

Astrid had heard Eret’s story only once before, not long after they had found him. He was unconscious for a while after, due to the blood loss, but when he woke up Astrid had demanded he tell of his origins. She refused to relent, even when he begged to not go into details. While he was telling it, she didn't flinch and held his eye contact. After he was finished, she stood slowly and left without saying a word. When she got to the thick of the woods she bent over and vomited. She was unable to return back to their small camp until long after the sun had set. 

Astrid had learned a hard lesson that day. She thought she knew trauma, thought she knew hardships. But Eret had taught her how lucky she had truly been. In the apocalypse everyone had lost people they loved, and she thought that all made them equals. 

She was wrong. Eret had suffered atrocities at the hands of humans who found themselves superior just because they had the power to do so. Eret wasn't their equal, he was their test subject. His exposure to mutilated animals had left him scarred and emotionally damaged. 

He spent the first year they were together bitter and hostile. He would lash out often and his temper was easily set off. Astrid was constantly breaking up fist fights between Eret and anyone who got within arms reach. The group had begged her to send him away, but she refused. Beneath his frightened exterior she could see the man he truly was. On his good days he would crack a smile and was even capable of conversation. “Those are good signs.” She had told her friends. 

One night about eleven months in, after rousing Eret from a particularly bad nightmare he had asked her for mercy. She told him she didn't know what he meant and his face had contorted as he called her a “lying bitch” before storming away. 

The next day Astrid had dumped a bucket of dirt on his face in the form of a wake up call. There was never an explanation provided on why she did this, but after a few more dirt filled mornings, he seemed to get her drift. Slowly, his temper got better and there were much less black eyes and sprained wrists. A year later when they were building their hut, Astrid instructed that the boys room be big enough for four beds. No one had objected and she watched as Snotlout told a joke to Eret, who was bent over with laughter. She didn't know when it had happened, but he had become part of their family. 

She glanced over to him now, unsure if she was ready to break the silence that had settled over them. 

“If this is too much, we'll send him away. There will be no reason for Drago to attack us if we send him on Hiccup’s trail. If he leaves today he could have enough time to gain a lead in him.” It was all a lie, they both knew it. Drago would come here and destroy their village regardless, and sending Hiccup away was sending him to his death. But she would do it, for Eret. She would do anything to bring her friends peace of mind. 

Eret let out a humorless laugh, staring straight ahead to the woods. 

“I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep without his snores anymore.”

“You've grown fond of him.” Astrid watched as he clenched his jaw to avoid smiling. Or frowning. She wasn't sure, but he was definitely trying to not move his mouth. 

“Do you have a plan then?” Eret’s eyes looked clear as he looked to her, as if he was able to take his PTSD, put it in a box and lock it away for the day. 

“We go to Drago’s camp, we free his people and we save his beasts.” She paused. “I was hoping you'd be able to fill in the blanks of how we could do that.”

He reached his arm out and patted her lightly on the shoulder. Clearly now wasn't the time to talk strategy, but knowing he was on board was good enough. 

“You look awful, you should come back home and get some rest.” She reached her hand out and pulled him to his feet. They walked back slowly, laughing and making small talk and pretending there was nothing looming over their heads. 

\---

When Astrid and Eret arrived back at the house the bottom floor was empty. She shared a nervous glance with Eret, who quickly ran up the stairs. Astrid listened as his door squeaked open and his pounding footsteps crossed the room. She breathed a sigh of relief when he reappeared, giving her a thumbs up. 

She then clambered up to her room where she found her two friends huddled together on Ruffnut’s bed with papers spread around them. 

“We haven't forgotten that you owe us an explanation, but we just figured we’d get going on a strategy for infiltrating Drago’s camp while we waited.” Ruffnut didn't glance up as she sketched an outline of a township that shared very little resemblance to their own. 

There were many advantages to being so close to people in a post apocalyptic world, and this was at the top of her list. Her friends seemed to be able to read her mind, knowing what needs to be done before they had even discussed it. She felt warmth spread through her body as she joined the girls. 

“How do you know what Drago’s camp looks like?” 

Ruff rolled her eyes. “Eret and I spend time together every now and then and he has told me about it.

Astrid scoffed. “Didn't look like you had much time for talking last night.”

Ruff and Heather turned twin sets of confused eyes on her. 

“Am I the only one who didn't get black out drunk last night?” Only because Hiccup wouldn’t let her, but she wasn’t going to let them know that. 

Ruffnut shrugged before replying. “I didn't get laid last night, trust me.” She flipped the page over and began scribbling notes onto the corner. 

“Because you have someone who loves you and knows your ovulation schedule.” Keeping track of each other’s cycle was just another way to prevent pregnancy in a world where birth control no longer existed. “I wasn't trusting Eret to pull out in his state, either.”

Heather let out a barking laugh while Ruffnut shook her head. “Buzz kill.” 

She was relieved that Ruff didn't seem to remember Eret inviting Astrid to his bed while still holding her. She looked curiously to Heather. 

“You came in rather late last night.”

Heather gave her a dubious stare. “You first. We heard Hiccup’s story, which like you said, bad but could be worse. Now we-” she gestured to Ruff and herself, “wanna hear about you trying to fuck a secret out of him.”

Astrid groaned and threw herself down, placing her feet in Heather’s lap. 

“Gods, I was drunk and I didn't put much thought into it and before I knew it I was practically begging for him to tell me. And he just sat there like an idiot and I couldn't take it, I wanted him flustered and I wanted the truth.” She glanced up at Heather’s doubting face. “Okay, so I wanted the truth in theory. When I put my mouth to his neck, I would have been okay with him holding his tongue a little longer.” 

Ruff punched her shoulder lightly. “Didn't realize you had the hots for the one-legged dream boat.”

“That's funny that you think she knew herself.” 

Astrid’s mouth fell open in shock. “Way harsh, Heather.” She paused. “But true. Drunk Astrid sold me out, once again.” 

Heather began gathering the papers into neat piles. “So when are you going to talk to him about it?”

Astrid lifted onto her elbows and have her an incredulous look. “Talk? You must not know me. I'm going to pretend this never happened and avoid looking at his neck at all costs.”

“I can't wait to watch this go down.” Ruff shared a look with Heather. “Times like this I wish we still had cameras.”

“We're trying to plan an ambush right now, I think talking about my drunk, horny persona can be put on hold.” Astrid frowned. Was she the only one who had her priorities straight?

There was a knock on the door just then, and Hiccup poked his head in. 

“Uh, hey. Astrid? Do you think we could- can you come-” he gulped and looked down. “Talk?” 

Astrid’s fingertips went numb and she gave him a nod. 

“I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes?” He took his exit and Astrid felt a tightness bubbling in her chest as she attempted to free her tangled braid. 

“Need some alcohol? I think drunk Astrid would handle this much better.” She hit Ruff upside the head before changing out of her sweatpants into leggings. 

“Good luck!” Heather shouted as Astrid slammed the bedroom door, taking a deep breath before heading down the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just... love Eret so much. My baby has been through so much and he just wants to MOVE ON  
> Anyways this fic has a mind of its own and I try to steer it in different directions but it doesn’t listen so I hope you all like it!!   
> Thank you for the kind comments and all the kudos, I love u all so much!!


	10. Hectic Plans

Hiccup

Hiccup watched as Astrid bound down the stairs, her face unreadable. When she cocked her head curiously at him, his throat tightened painfully. He grabbed her wrist lightly, skin searing against his fingertips, and dragged her out the door. 

He didn't speak until he reached the alleyway they had occupied the night before. He wasn't sure why he had brought her here, but there was no time to question it now. When he spun around to face her, the late-morning sunshine blinded him. 

“I just- I wanted to talk about last night. Not the bleak, dark parts of it. But the parts that happened before.” He could feel the heat rising to his cheeks and he wished he wasn't so unsure of where to put his hands. 

“Okay, then start talking.” Her voice was strong but her movements were less abrasive. She wouldn't make eye contact and her fingers played restlessly with the ends of her braid. 

“Okay, uhh..” Where did he start? Did he ask her if she had feelings for him? That seemed too straight forward. How could he approach this more delicately?

“Why did you try and kiss me?” He closed his eyes tightly. Nicely done. 

“I- well I- you didn't-” Astrid sputtered and began pacing along the wall, shoes kicking up puffs of dust. Hiccup watched as she visually gathered her thoughts. 

“Look, Hiccup. I'm not good with feelings. I'm not good with… this.” She gestured her hands to herself and then to him. “I'm too caught up in leading and surviving and trying to make sure everyone is okay. I don't have time to sort through my thoughts. I just… act.” She looked up to him, frantic eyes attempting to convey her point. 

“So you hadn't ever thought about doing what you did last night?” Hiccup was pretty sure there wasn't a single thought that crossed his mind that didn't contain Astrid since he first woke up. 

“No. It's not that I haven't thought about you it's just-” she shook her head and sat against the brick wall harshly. 

“I’ve watched my friends for the past four years. Laughing and flirting and bringing people back to our hut. I was happy for them, but I never wanted to do that myself. It hadn't even crossed my mind that I was capable of that kind of feeling before last night.”

Hiccup thought of the looks of longing that Eret cast her way. He always thought she was too caught up to notice them, but looking back to his behavior last night and Astrid’s reaction he realized she wasn't oblivious, she just chose to ignore them.

That probably meant she had been aware of his feelings too. 

“Are you saying you're capable of it now?”

“I’m saying I was capable of it last night.” She gave him a hard look and his heart sank. She stood up and dusted her hands on her pants. 

“I'm sorry, Hiccup but with the planning of the raid I just don't have the energy to think about anything, or anyone else.” Her pitying smile felt like tiny pinpricks on his skin and he watched helplessly as she walked towards the center of town. 

\---

Astrid

A few days later Astrid and her team found themselves sitting around their tiny table, surrounded by mountains of papers and plans. They had been discussing strategies for hours and it felt like everything they came up with fell short. 

Snotlout let out a loud groan and roughly put his forehead to the table. 

“I vote we just accept our deaths and try to enjoy our last few moments of life.” 

It wasn't a bad idea at this point, Astrid thought grimly. They must have tossed around a thousand different strategies but in the end none of them would work out with them winning. What was the point in all this planning if they were just going to perish in battle anyways?

Astrid shook her head to try and change her train of thought. She looked up at the exhausted faces of her friends. 

She couldn't let them die. Seven years. They had all gone through hell and back to survive these past seven years and the thought of them dying without putting up a fight made her stomach twist painfully. 

“We will fight and we will win because we have to. Because we're fucking 24 years old and we've barely lived and we are not lowering the average life expectancy any more than it already is.” She was breathing hard, feeling frantic and out of control. 

Hiccup placed a calloused hand over hers. She was standing now and she didn't remember getting up. Her knuckles were stark white as she tightly gripped the edge of the table and she tried to relax her grip in an effort to gain back some control. 

“Look, we have a pretty good layout of Drago’s camp. That's a huge advantage as it is. The biggest issue we’re running into is that we don't know how to stop his animals.” Heather, ever the calm voice of reason was always there to get them back on track, and for that Astrid was thankful. 

“After all my years… involved with them I can only tell you that they're fast and strong. I'm not sure they have any weaknesses. That wasn't exactly my job.” Of them all, Eret looked the most exhausted. The night before she awoke to screams, running to his room to find Hiccup frantically trying to wake him up.

“I can't get him out of it.” 

Astrid moved him aside and bent to whisper in his ear. It had been ages since she’d done this and the nostalgia of the act was extremely unwelcome. 

Eret jumped awake with a start and began punching out under her firm hold on his shoulders. She was out of practice and her hand slipped on his sweaty chest. His fist made contact with her jaw and she stumbled back a few steps from the impact. 

Hiccup ran forward and struggled with Eret’s flailing body until he became aware of his surroundings. The dazed look on his face mirrored that of a past she had thought could be long forgotten. 

She wished she wouldn't have been looking at him when his eyes dropped on her aching chin, where she could only imagine a bruise was already forming. His face crumpled in despair and apologies spilled from his lips. 

“Stop no- look I know- it's not-” she attempted to speak over his sorrow filled words but it seemed he couldn't stop. 

She was transported back to the ratty tents that never kept them warm enough, to before she allowed herself to feel any real hope at a normal life. A time where tensions were high and morale was low. She hadn't truly realized how much had changed before that moment. 

Her palms felt sweaty and her heart raced in her ears, roaring over the sounds of Eret’s pained apologies. Her breath caught in her throat and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't get enough air into her lungs. 

Hiccup’s face appeared in her blurred vision and he was saying words to her but she couldn't hear and his worried look only added to the building tension in her chest. She vaguely felt him yank her up and she didn't know where he was bringing her, just that she was now laying on her side, the surface below her soft. Everything went black not long after. 

When she awoke she found herself in Hiccup’s bed, a blanket pulled up past her shoulders. She turned over to find Eret asleep and Hiccup on the floor between the two, eyes closed and slouching against the wall. She shook his shoulder gently and waited for his vision to adjust to the light before speaking. 

“What happened? What am I doing in your bed?”

Hiccup sat up straighter and rubbed his eyes with the flat of his palms. 

“Eret had a nightmare and you came and woke him up. He accidentally hit you before he came to all the way and then you…” His discomfort was visible and she nudged him on with a slight nod. 

“You had a panic attack, I think. Eret was talking and then your eyes went blank and you started breathing hard and you weren't answering me. I put you in the bed and went to calm Eret and then I turned back and you weren't awake.” 

Astrid shook her head and stood on shaky legs. 

“I don't think so.” Was all she said before walking out the door. 

She hadn't had time to think any longer on last night's events before they had convened this meeting, but she had to admit everything felt off kilter, both emotionally and physically. 

“Let's take the rest of the day off. We’ll begin again early tomorrow and we won't leave this damned table until we have a plan.” She was out the front door before anyone else could speak and then she was at the gates, telling the person in front to raise them. 

The pounding of her feet matched the beat of her aching head and she felt like she could breathe for the first time in twelve hours and she thanked the Gods for the time alone with her thoughts. 

She was embarrassed that Hiccup had seen her like that. She was even more embarrassed that she could feel the panic rising again today and Hiccup had noticed, that he had been the one to bring her back. 

She wasn't sure how to describe what had happened last night, just that she had never experienced such an overwhelming loss of control before. Her feelings had taken over and all she could think of were the harsh nights before the settlement had been established. 

She pressed her feet harder into the ground. 

\---

When Astrid re-entered the settlement the sky was glowing orange from the sunset. She headed to the food hall where she found Fishlegs and Snotlout, their heads pressed closely together. She grabbed a bowl of food and sat next to them, giving a dubious look. 

“You guys are quite the odd pair to be sitting here so late after the dinner rush.” She blew on her food lightly before shoveling it into her mouth. Snotlout moved his eyes towards her bowl and a grin spread across his face. 

“You like that? It's a new recipe and I wasn't sure if it would work.”

Astrid smiled at the sheer normalness of the moment. Only Snotlout was capable of such a casual tone when the world was falling apart right in front of them. 

“It's some of your best work, if we survive the next few months I'm definitely promoting you to head chef.” She took another bite before changing the subject. “What were you guys talking about? Looked pretty serious.”

Neither boy would meet her eye and her stomach tightened. She pushed her bowl back hastily. She couldn't take anymore secrets but she felt if she learned anything new her head would burst open. 

“We were just trying to discuss a way we could figure out Drago’s animals.” Fishlegs feigned a casual tone and Astrid narrowed her eyes. 

“Why wouldn't have you brought this up earlier? Or waited until the morning when we reconvene.”

Fishlegs looked down at his hands while Snotlout began to eat out of her abandoned bowl. 

“We thought it would be better to discuss this without Hiccup around.” 

That piqued her interest. “Explain.”

A flash of confidence glowed in Fishleg’s eyes. “It's Toothless. If he's truly one of Drago’s creations, even if he escaped when he was a puppy, then logically he should function at the same level as the others.”

“Are you suggesting we fight Toothless?” She laid her elbows on the table attempting to put her chin in her hand before flinching and dropping her palm down. Fishlegs looked at her injury, uncertain, then glanced to Snotlout for help. 

“We hadn't really gotten that far. Honestly training against him doesn't sound like a bad idea, but it wasn't what I was thinking.” Astrid nodded for him to continue, and his hopeful eyes made her heart feel warm for the first time in days. 

“Well we don't really know anything about Toothless besides what Hiccup has told us.”

“Which admittedly isn't much.” Fishlegs mumbled. 

“I bet we could study him and learn a Hel of a lot more about them than just listening to Eret’s horrific stories.”

“But Toothless isn't violent.” Astrid argued. 

“Not towards us, but Hiccup has said he will kill walkers.” Snotlout pointed to her with the wooden spoon in his hand. 

“Only when he has no other choice, otherwise Toothless just sends them away.”

“Doesn't that seem like a weird phenomenon?” Fishlegs turned so he was facing her head on and his cheeks were flushed. 

“What do you mean?” Astrid’s brow furrowed in confusion. 

“I don't know if you've ever tried convincing a zombie to turn away from free flesh, but it’s never worked for me.” 

Astrid thought on that. He was right, the undead didn't listen to reason, but Hiccup swore that Toothless had saved him more than once by sending the walking corpses away. She had even witnessed it the day of his rescue. 

“Okay… so what do we do with that information? How do we turn it into an advantage?” She could only assume that Drago didn't have giant herds of walkers looming in his camp, but it seemed like the safe bet. 

“This is just a hunch, I think from here we observe Toothless and see if he does anything we can turn into a plan.” Astrid could practically see the wheels in Fishleg’s head turning and she couldn't help the feeling of hope that bubbled inside of her. 

“Okay. We’ll talk to Hiccup about it in the morning. This could work.” She found herself nodding along, giddy with the thoughts of a plan beginning to form. 

\---

Astrid groaned as she rolled over on the hardwood floor. She pushed herself up, wincing as her lower back protested at the sudden movement. Through the window grey light was leaking in, confirming that it was now socially acceptable to get her day started. She hopped off the floor soundlessly, careful to not wake either boy.

She had started sleeping in Eret and Hiccup’s room just a few nights prior. Eret’s nightmares seemed to be incessant, and try as they may, no one else was able to calm him as effectively as she was. She had started out in her room, but it seemed just as she fell into a deep sleep screams would bring her to and she would be in the other room before she was awake enough to know what was happening. 

She was downstairs sipping on her coffee when Hiccup plopped in the seat next to her, looking just as exhausted as she felt.

“You know, you should probably just move your bed into the room if you’re going to keep this up.” 

That thought had crossed Astrid’s mind already, especially after Hiccup had offered his bed to her two nights ago. She hadn’t done it yet, because there was a sense of permanency in it, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

For starters, it would definitely make Eret feel like he was being babysat. She had tried to keep her actions as secretive as possible, coming in after Eret was asleep, waking before he opened his eyes. But deep down, they all knew what was going on. It was just easier to pretend like things would go back to normal in a day or two.

Instead of answering she stood, grabbed a mug and filled it for him. When she placed it on the table his eyes filled with gratefulness. Hiccup, though he wasn’t much help when it came to Eret waking from the nightmare, was just as sleep deprived as she was. After the initial shock of Eret shooting up, Hiccup is able to assist in soothing the man, and he never falls back asleep before Eret or Astrid. She was thankful for his help with the task. It made her feel less lonely and she thought maybe it was good for Eret, too. 

For so long she was the only one who saw what he was capable of, and he knew it. Years ago she was the person there to soothe him when his trauma hit too hard. Even though now he had a positive relationship with the rest of the team, he refused to let the others calm him. It was like his dreams had caused him to revert back to his old, hostile ways and he didn’t trust anyone that had wanted him gone. Hiccup hadn’t ostracised him like the others, though. Eret seemed to know that. 

“Is Toothless ready for today?” She reached around and caught her braid by the tail, undoing her tangled plait.

“Is my mutated wolf ready to do what he was designed to?” Hiccup rolled his eyes. “I’m sure he’s never been more excited.”

They had all spent the past few days observing Toothless, trying to see what he was capable of. Though it wasn’t an easy task. The township posed very few risks and the loveable animal spent most of his time playing with the children or sleeping. Hiccup insisted that they set out when a group of zombies came by, so that they could get a better handle on what he could do when put into action. The night before, the Meatheads had buzzed their comms to inform them of a large herd moving their way.

Astrid shook her leg restlessly as the caffeine thrummed through her veins. She was eager to get this part done, hoping to be able to find an advantage on this mission. She wasn’t sure exactly what they were looking for, but the more they learned about what Drago had created, the better. She couldn’t deny that she was hoping to be able find an extreme weakness in Toothless today, though glancing towards the over-sized wolf she couldn’t fathom what that might be.

The stairs creaked as the rest of the team slowly made their way downstairs. Tuffnut had a bag slung over his shoulders and Astrid gave him a questioning look.

“Recon materials, just in case.” He tossed it to the ground roughly and Fishlegs flinched.

“Shouldn’t you be more gentle with explosives?” Tuff gave him a lazy shrug before turning to pour his coffee.

They sat in silence for a few moments and Astrid looked around at each of their faces. They all looked so much older than she remembered. She wished more than anything that she could call the whole thing off, that they could just run away, like they used to in the beginning. But then she thought of her people talking outside, of the children playing and laughing, like it was normal.

She stood, chair squeaking loudly against the wood floor. 

“Let’s head out, the earlier we leave the earlier we can get back.” She didn’t look back as she walked out the door and towards the gate. She signaled to the person in charge to raise the gate when she heard shuffling behind her. 

“Ready?” She looked out towards the lush forest as she spoke. The grunts behind her was all the confirmation she needed before stepping forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some parts of this chapter I really love and some I don’t like at all but somehow this fic got a plot and it’s all necessary to drive towards it. I hope you guys like it either way and in the next chapter I’m gonna make it a little less plot centric bc I want these kids to have some careless fun again!!


	11. New Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so nervous to post this chapter so please don’t be too hard on it!!

Astrid noticed that the closer the group moved towards the herd’s current location, the more energy Toothless seemed to have. He had started out walking to match their pace, then he had began trotting a few yards in front of them. Now, he was shooting far out in front, onky to circle back to the team’s location.

“They can’t be too far from here.” Hiccup’s squinted his eyes as he looked through the thick trees ahead.

Not long after Astrid could hear the groans and shuffling feet that used to give her so much anxiety. She paused and her group followed suit, turning towards her. She stood still for a moment before glancing at Hiccup.

“What now?” She wasn’t the expert here, so she looked to the only one who might know what the Hel to do.

“We have to get closer. Toothless doesn’t normally take initiative unless he thinks I’m in danger.” He began moving forward, everyone falling into line behind him.

Astrid flinched as Hiccup began to walk through the middle of the pack. Walkers grabbed at his shirt and reached towards his warm body, but he continued forward, gesturing for them to follow.

This was the closest she had let any of them to zombies in years and it took everything in Astrid not to order the rest of them to stay back. If one of her friends were bit, she knew she wouldn’t be able to cope.

When a corpse took a firm hold on Heather’s forearm she heard a low, guttural growl to her left. The walker didn’t look around for the source of the noise, but dropped her and continued walking lifelessly forward.

Astrid watched in awe as this process was repeated. A hand found purchase around Ruff’s waist, an ordering hiss was delivered and it was gone. After a few more of these commands and none of the walkers even attempted to touch them. She turned towards Hiccup.

“This is how it normally happens?”

He nodded before shrugging. 

“I can’t explain it, but I think he has a power over them.” 

The pack had now walked completely around them and all that surrounded her team was the dust they stirred up. Around her, she counted their heads once, twice, unbelieving of what she had just witnessed. They were all here, all unbitten.

“He’s in charge of them!” Fishlegs clapped his hand to his forehead dramatically as the rest of the group turned confused stares on him. He rolled his eyes before responding.

“Toothless is a wolf. Wolves have a hierarchy of command, right? What if Toothless is the alpha of the pack?” His hands were moving animatedly as he got increasingly excited about his point.

“That doesn’t make any sense, he can’t just come in and take charge of a pack without some sort of challenge to the current alpha.” Heather countered.

“Maybe in a normal wolf pack that’s true, but nothing about any of this is typical.”

Astrid shifted in her place, dirt beneath her feet crunching lightly. Her mind was reeling with the insanity being thrown out and she wasn’t following.

“How would that be possible? First, zombies don’t have alphas, they just travel together. Second, why in the Hel would Toothless be able to become their Alpha? They aren’t even the same species.” Everyone was silent and the trees rustling above them felt deafening. She could feel that everyone was attempting to put the pieces together, trying to understand the strange bond that Toothless had with the undead. 

His resistance to kill was strange to Astrid. He had the advantage, both in size and in speed. If he was able to command them to not eat humans, the one thing they want to do, then surely he had the ability to slaughter them all. It was almost as if he didn't want to kill them because he felt attached to them… because…

Realization crashed down on Astrid suddenly. 

“So you’re saying that they use walkers… to… with Drago’s animals.” She was unable to put a coherent thought together, her mind racing faster than her hammering heart. 

Hiccup walked a few paces ahead before turning around. 

“We should head back to camp before we get too in depth about this, it’s getting dark.” He looked pale and Astrid’s mind flashed back to the injured man she had rescued all those months ago. She nodded and the group followed him silently back.

\---

It was dark when they made it back to their hut. The journey back had been quiet, only talking when they approached a stray walker. Snotlout had cut it down, but Astrid wasn't sure why he'd bothered. Toothless had made it very clear that he wouldn't let anyone get bit. But old habits die hard, and in the end there was no harm in his act either. 

When everyone was sat around the table, the mood shifted. The tension in the room sparked with life and no one was brave enough to break it. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Hiccup stood, glancing at their faces. 

“Okay, so I get that Toothless and the walkers are… what? Related? Sharing the same genes? How the fuck does that even work?” He ran his hands through his hair nervously. 

Fishlegs shook his head, eyes closed as if he was trying to choose his words carefully. 

“If you're asking if the walkers and wolves mate, I really hope not. I was thinking maybe they are infected with the virus.”

“You mean bit?” Astrid leaned her arms on the table and glanced up to the burly man. 

“We can check that out easily.” Snotlout jumped up and walked towards Toothless, who was asleep by the door, searching through his fur. 

After a few moments he wiped his hands on the back of his pants, shaking his head before joining them back at the table. 

“I couldn't see or feel anything that could resemble a bite.”

It was silent for a moment as everyone gathered their thoughts and tried to make sense of this. Heather’s head popped up suddenly, her eyes wide. 

“What if… what if his mother was infected while she was pregnant?” She stood then, walking around the table slowly. This was the closest to flustered Astrid had seen her in years. 

“So you mean to say the virus was passed from his mom to him genetically?” Hiccup was nodding furiously, flustered cheeks turning up into a slight smile. 

“That would explain his pack mentality over them. He can control them so easily because he has some of their DNA too. But zombies don't have Alphas, so he’s able to take over. Maybe even his unwillingness to kill them can be linked to this too. He doesn't want to kill his own kind.” Fishlegs was talking fast, so fast that Astrid had to strain to keep up with his words. 

“Okay… So how do we use this to help us defeat Drago? He obviously already knows about this and he has a whole pack of wolves that can do the same things Toothless can.” Astrid laid her head in her hand and sighed. It felt like they were back at square one again. They still didn't have a plan. 

“You said it yourself just the other night.” Snotlout had a fierce look in his eyes as he smirked down at Astrid.

“We fight Toothless.”

\---

Astrid grunted, dirt filling her mouth as she was once again knocked to the ground. She stood up quickly and gestured at her opponent. 

“Again.”

Toothless charged her right this time, and she spun until they were on opposite sides. When she turned Toothless was still looking at the spot she had been standing in. She knelt down and kicked his legs from beneath him. While he was down she jumped on top of him and attempted to pin him. But he was too strong and she was thrown into the air, the crash to the ground taking the breath from her lungs. 

Snotlout shook his head, cradling an injured shoulder. 

“It doesn't matter how many times we pin them if they're strong enough to shake us off.” His voice carried the frustration that had settled deep into Astrid’s bones hours ago. 

She had to admit that they had made vast improvements since they started this a few days ago, when Toothless would be snarling at their necks within seconds. Fighting a giant wolf was harder than it looked, and it looked pretty Thordamned hard in her opinion. 

But Toothless was smart, he knew what they were doing and he was able to help them learn better techniques. It had been nearly a week and they were all able to pin Toothless down, but from there his strength always overpowered their dominant position. 

“We need something to tie them down when we’re above them. Like a chain or… I don't know. We just can't let ourselves be thrown off.” She pushed off her knees and went to stand with the rest of her team on the outskirts of the fighting arena. 

They had long ago agreed that they would try to not kill any of mutated wolves. Toothless proved they could be friendly, and if nothing else they proved a great advantage against the walkers. 

She looked towards Hiccup. “Could you come up with something? Whatever it is, we need multiple and they need to be portable.” 

Hiccup nodded in lieu of a response and gestured for her to follow him. She looked towards her friends before following. 

“That's it for today, I’ll see you all at dinner?” 

The walk to what Hiccup deemed “the forge” was quiet, both tired from the long hours of training. Her muscles ached and she longed for a hot bath, something she hadn’t experienced for years. Every step against the hard ground caused a reverberation up her spine and she felt like her fatigued body might collapse at any moment. She was grateful to see the small weapons building looming ahead, and when they entered she collapsed into a chair. She looked up to where Hiccup was grabbing paper and a pencil from the shelves above.

“You have something in mind?” She watched as he began to sketch an outline that looked vaguely familiar, something from her past life.

“Maybe, I’m not sure the logistics of it all yet, but it’s the only thing I can think of.” His brow crumpled and his tongue peeked out of the side of his mouth. It was a gesture so normal that Astrid smiled while she watched. In another life she could picture them doing this casually. Her exhausted from a workout she chose to do, and him drawing because he loved it, not for survival.

After a few quiet moments he turned the paper to face her. She looked down at a horseshoe shaped item with pointy ends shooting out in opposite directions. It was big, five times the size of any that she had ever seen. She didn’t look up when she spoke.

“How does it work?” 

“It’s to immobilize them. We can all take down Toothless, but we can’t keep him down. This will do that.”

“How?” She mindlessly traced the outline of the sketch, trying to envision it in real life.

“Once you’re on top, you take it and stake it around their neck. The sides here will make it hard for them to pull out. I don’t think it will hold them forever, but it’ll give the person enough time to get away.” He leaned in closer and their foreheads were nearly touching. When Astrid looked up at him she could clearly see the stubble that had formed on his chin and cheeks.

She swallowed hard. “You think you could make this? It has to be light enough to be portable but strong enough to immobilize them. And we’ll all need a lot of them. The Gods only knows how many beasts Drago has.”

He nodded down at the paper. “It’s the only thing I can think of that’s even slightly realistic. We can use a lighter metal that will still do the job, I think.” He turned then, objects clanking loudly as he searched for materials.

“We’ll probably have to raid abandoned buildings to see if there’s anything useful left in them.” They hadn’t done this in years, not since they created their own sustainable food source. But they were never searching for metals, so she held out hope they would find what they needed.

He came around the other side of the table and stood next to her. She looked up and a wave of longing passed over her. She had such a strong urge to reach out and touch him that she made a point to fold her hands on the tabletop. She had been so busy preparing and fighting that she hadn’t thought about her feelings for Hiccup in weeks. But right now they were so obvious that she wasn’t sure how she had held back for so long.

She was tired, tired of fighting, tired of being sore, but most importantly she was tired of holding back. So she only hesitated a moment before grabbing the collar of Hiccup’s shirt and pulling him down to a kiss.

If he was surprised, he did a good job hiding it. His lips instantly molded to fit hers and she was so angry at herself for waiting to do this. His hand came up to cup her cheek and suddenly he wasn’t close enough. She pulled tighter on the fabric and turned her head to deepen the kiss. His tongue teased at the entrance of her mouth and she moaned in response.

His hands moved to her waist and he lifted her onto the table she was just leaning on. He nudged her knees open until he was standing between them and Astrid reeled at the contact. His skin was hot wherever she touched; his shoulders, his back, even his face when she cupped it.

His mouth was the warmest though, and the sweet taste of his lips had her feeling light headed and she was transported back to the drunk night against the alley wall, her tongue on his neck. She was afraid this would never be enough, that she would always want more. She dragged him closer until she was able to wrap her legs around him and he sighed when her thighs tightened around him.

His hands moved to her shoulder blades and they were pressed chest to chest and it still wasn’t enough. She broke the kiss and reached for his shirt, pulling it over his head. She paused after she had thrown it to the ground, moving her fingers lightly across his bare chest, his shudder urging her on. 

When she had first seen him through the trees she’d taken note at how thin he was. She didn’t think anything had changed besides her perception of him, but under the thin frame she could see firm muscles pressing out. She moved her eyes up to his face and the green was hidden by blown pupils. Astrid’s mouth went dry as he moved to trace her collarbone and she nodded at the unspoken question.

Her shirt joined Hiccup’s on the ground and she kissed him again, more sure of what she wanted this time. She took his hand and planted it firmly over her chest, his exploration taking longer than she would like. 

His palms were soft against her bra and she cursed herself for leaving the rest of her clothes on as he thrust into her and she let out a tiny moan, too enthralled to be embarrassed. His hands were moving quicker now, more confident as he reached around and unsnapped her bra. She arched into his touch as he traced the outline of her nipple. 

Astrid was sure in any other situation he would want to stop and look at her, to take in her flushed face and naked upper body, but the forge wasn’t the place for that and there were more urgent matters at hand.

She broke away and reached for the waistband of his pants, pausing to give him a questioning look before he nodded his consent. She tore at the ties while he bent down and kissed her neck, stopping at her pulse point to suck lightly. She sighed at the action, grinning in success as his pants fell to the ground. He moved his hands down to her lower back, bringing one back to her navel where he rest it firmly. She bucked her hips in reply, reaching into his boxers.

He groaned as she wrapped her hand around him, hard and hot and oh so inviting. She began pumping slowly, trying to get the feel and partly shocked that she remembered how any of this worked after all this time. He reached and clumsily pushed down her pants to her knees and she felt a pulse at her center.

His hand made a slow, agonizing trail from her belly button down through her slick wetness, where he swiped lightly, smirking in satisfaction at her needy moan. His finger paused at her entrance and he glanced at her one last time before entering.

“Gods Hiccup, don’t stop.” She knew she was begging and if he ever mentioned it again she would kill him, but right now she didn’t care as he pushed forward, dipping in and out slowly before adding a second finger.

Astrid’s head fell to his shoulders as a shudder of pleasure ran through her body. He removed her hand from his pants and set it on his waist before continuing his torture. He circled his fingers inside and she tightened her thighs around his hips, he crutched them forward and her mind went blank. Try as she might she couldn’t seem to stop the breathy sounds that spilled from her lips and she prayed that the forge walls were thicker than they looked.

She was close, she could feel it in the tightening ball in her stomach. Hiccup must have noticed too because his thumb rubbed teasingly against her burning center and she thought she was going to lose it there, but he drew it back for a moment, taunting her before coming back with more intense pressure. It wasn’t like anything she remembered from her teenage years, where young fumbling hands groped at something they didn’t truly understand. 

She felt the world around her fall apart as her mind exploded in ecstasy. She clung to Hiccup desperately as the pleasure rolled over her in waves, eyes remaining closed until he removed his hands from her underwear. 

She looked at his flustered face for a moment, taking in his red cheeks and crinkled brow. It wasn’t long before she locked him into an embrace once more. His kisses were sloppy and desperate and she revelled at the fact that she was able to unhinge him like this. She pushed his boxers down to the ground and eyed his hard length hungrily before beckoning him back between her knees. 

“Are you sure?” His voice was husky and only served to drive her closer to insanity. Her nod of assent was frantic. 

He took her chin in his hand and brought her face up to meet his. In his eyes she could see his desperate wanting, but there was more. A gentleness that she wasn’t aware could ever exist in moments of lust like this one. 

He guided himself to her entrance and paused only a second before pushing inside. Her moan was swallowed as he caught her mouth and kissed her hard. He waited a moment more before pulling out and pushing back in, filling her completely and hitting a sensitive spot. She met his hips at the next thrust and soon they were moving together, hips and tongues and hands all a blur as she came closer to the precipice of madness she so desperately craved. 

He moved his hand between their legs and rubbed her clit in time with their hips and Astrid was ruined. She knew there would never be anything as great as this moment and she was almost mad that she had peaked so early on in life, that from here everything she ever did would seem mediocre in comparison. 

She came with a gasp and Hiccup began kissing down her neck sloppy and open mouthed. She fluttered and pulsed around his shaft as the slam of their hips continued. Her world felt off kilter in the best way as he pulled out and finished on her stomach, his groan helping her ride the waves of pleasure for just a moment longer. 

When their panting had slowed Hiccup untangled himself and went to grab a rag. She nodded her thanks and wiped herself clean as he redressed. 

“That was- I should have brought you to the forge weeks ago.” His arrogant smirk could be felt even as she avoided eye contact. 

“How’d you know I was so horny for tools?” She threw the dirty towel at him and jumped to the ground in search for her own clothes. He grabbed her by the arm and she turned to face him head on. 

“This was more than just a forge fucking. This was… everything to me.”

She felt heat rising to her cheeks, the post-orgasm afterglow too good for her to feel embarrassed yet. She pulled him in for one last kiss, savoring the moment for all it was worth before pulling back.

“We should go, everyone is going to wonder why we’re so late for dinner.” She shoved her legs into her pants and headed towards the door.

“I’m sure they can use their imagination to fill in the blanks.” Hiccup replied before following her out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a rollercoaster of emotions! I know the first half was all plot but like.. it was time for some smut so I hope you guys liked it and I hope this story makes as much sense written down as it does in my head.. idk I’m nervous this is just a mess and nothing flows right so if you enjoyed it lmk!! Also thank u for the kind comments and kudos I love you all so much. <3


	12. Big Distractions

Astrid tried to feign nonchalance as the group ate dinner, but she could still feel the wetness in her panties from her and Hiccup’s earlier tryst, and damn if it wasn’t distracting. Her friends were talking to her, trying to ask questions about the upcoming raid but she could hardly hear their words over her own racing thoughts. In the end, they dismissed her odd behavior as exhaustion and had ordered her to return to the hut and get some rest. Which sounded great in theory, but once her body hit the sheets she couldn’t help but imagine what Hiccup would be capable of if he were present.

After about an hour of tossing in her tangled bedding, she got up and made her way to Hiccup and Eret’s room, like she normally did. She snuck in quietly, but to her surprise both boys were awake and sitting up. She froze at the entrance and plastered a smile onto her face.

“Eret! Up late tonight aren’t you?” She leaned casually against the door frame.<

“Little after hours for you to be sneaking into our room isn’t it? Unless you had less than innocent intentions..” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Astrid jumped on the opportunity to save Eret’s pride. She’d rather him picture her promiscuous activities than know she’d been sleeping in here for the better part of a week. That doesn’t mean she wouldn’t try out a different approach first.

“Yes! That’s what I’m doing. Hiccup and I have been… sparring- late at night.” She thought, given the circumstances, that sounded rather convincing. But Eret’s dubious look told her otherwise.

“Late night sparring?” He repeated, forehead crinkling as he lifted his eyebrows.

Astrid sputtered before gesturing to his prosthetic leg. “He needs a lot of work, clearly. If he’s going to be apart of the invasion then I have to make sure he’s up to our standards.” She resisted the urge to turn around and walk out the door. As obvious as this lie might be, she was committed, dammit.

“He’s able to take down Toothless, same as the rest of us.” Eret crossed his arms and she could see the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Astrid could tell this wasn’t going to work. She walked across the room and sat on Hiccup’s bed.

“Lovers.” She turned and stared at Eret. “We steal away in the night, lest anyone catch us.” She didn’t know why she was suddenly talking like it was the 1800’s, but she was rolling with it.

Beside her, Hiccup had turned a dark shade of red and had his head in his hand, covering his eyes. She nudged him sharply in the ribs.

He jumped up, staring daggers at her. ”Ow! Why would you-” Upon seeing her expression, he turned to Eret. 

“She’s telling the truth. We’re young, and with our fate unknown we knew we would have to take the moments when we could get them.” He took his hand and laid it to her cheek dramatically. It was quite the performance, honestly. Too bad this wasn’t high school theatre.

“Well…” Eret look disbelievingly between the two before letting out howling laughter. Astrid smiled before joining in. It was the first time she had heard it in weeks and the tension in her chest that she hadn’t realized was there loosened a smidge.

“Whatever you two are up to, enjoy it, I guess.” Eret was wiping tears from his eyes and shaking his head.

Astrid nodded, taking Hiccup by the hand and backing out of the room slowly. “We’ll try to keep our lovemaking quiet, but you know how things can get in the midst of all this… passion.” She was having too much fun at this point, truth and lies blending together and she was no longer sure how much of an act she was putting on.

Eret dismissed them with a flick of his hand. They turned and clambered down the stairs, attempting to keep their snickers masked in respect for the other sleeping people in the hut. When they were outside she stood, hands on knees, laughing until her breath was gone.

Hiccup grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her towards the alley, where they sat opposite each other before he spoke.

“You know, I’m not sure if Eret just flat out thought we were lying, but I thought he would be more.. I don’t know, jealous?”

“Eret’s not in love with me.” Astrid caught his disbelieving stare as he shook his head.

“I never said he was, but the fact that you jumped straight to that shows you know that’s not the truth.” Hiccup leaned forward, elbows on knees.

Astrid sighed before answering. “I’m not saying he doesn’t give me those longing looks or act annoyingly over-protective of me or whatever.” She picked mindlessly at a piece of lint on her shirt. “I’m just saying he’s not in love with me.”

Hiccup scoffed. “Have you filled him in on that?”

Astrid thought on that a moment before answering. She knew Eret thought he had feelings for her, just as much as she knew that he didn’t actually. Infatuated with her, maybe. Needing her approval, definitely. But love? Certainly not.

“I was there for him when no one else was. I am pretty sure I’ve seen his very worst behaviors and I never left him. And to this day, I’m one of the only people he puts his trust in to be able to bring him back when the fear causes him to go berserk. But in love? No, I imagine he’s not capable of that at this moment.”

“What makes you say that?” Hiccup had captured her braid in his hand and was attempting to undo her plait.

“He needs to focus on himself. On some days he looks like a normal man, someone who never lived in the Zombie Age and didn’t go through what he did.” She looked Hiccup in the eyes. “It’s an act. He never properly dealt with his trauma, just got far enough away from it to shove it down.”

Hiccup’s green eyes searched her face curiously. “I think we can all relate to that in some form.”

Astrid grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss. It was slow and sensual, tongues searching, trying to heal all that remained unsaid between them. One of his hands took purchase on her lower back, pulling her to straddle his lap.

He pushed away lightly. “What did my dad do to your township?”

Astrid froze, the unexpected question shattering the warm atmosphere. She was suddenly aware of the frosty breeze blowing on her exposed back, where Hiccup had dragged her shirt up slightly. She moved to sit beside him, shoulders touching. 

“I told you I attempted to make peace with all the nearby townships, right?”

“Yeah, and of all them, the Meatheads were the ones to agree.” He let out a small laugh, but it didn’t serve to break the tension.

“Well your dad had agreed to peace as well. It was amazing, really. He was an established man and his help would really come in handy. We were hardly settled back then, really more of a larger group than anything.” She couldn’t make eye contact. Talk as he may about how harsh his father was, she knew he wasn’t ready to hear of this.

“A man came to our gates later, injured and begging for entrance. I complied, of course. A person in need would never be sent away from my gates.” She paused. “It was late in the night and I was naive. I didn’t ask for a backstory and didn’t press him for answers. I blindly let him in.”

“It was nearly dawn when I awoke to smoke. It was suffocating and blinding and I could hardly find my way out. I went to get my team out of the house, and then to help the rest of my town, but there was no one left alive to help.” She swallowed hard and Hiccup was stiff beside her, but she pressed on.

“The man, the one who I had let in, was standing there completely injury free. He handed me a note. A warning, really. Stoick had made it clear that peace was never truly an option.” Astrid was breathing heavily and she tucked a piece of her behind her ear with a shaking hand.

“How do you know it was him?” Hiccup’s voice was barely above a whisper, and it was desperate.

“His township was the only one that had not been set on fire that night. It was a bold, but effective move. I don’t think anyone has tried to bother him since, but he destroyed townships, and killed people.” She shook her head gently. Remembering that morning came in foggy waves: pulling dead bodies from burnt buildings, rereading the note until Snotlout had snatched it from her hands and burnt it.

“I… I guess I understand your apprehension on me now.”

Astrid huffed out a humorless laugh. “I shouldn’t have ever assumed that you and him were the same because of your relation but… trust is hard these days.” The hand she set on his knee signaled the end of the conversation and she stood offering Hiccup a hand up.

“Do you have those blindfolds still?” Hiccup dusted his hands on the front of his shirt as they began walking.

“Yeah, why?” Astrid asked as an evil grin spread across his face.

“Meet me at the arena in twenty minutes.” He ran off in the opposite direction before she could bombard him with questions.

\---

Astrid arrived at the arena, backpack in hand, carrying only the pieces of fabric. She didn’t want to walk around her township looking like a weirdo only carrying two blindfolds so she stuffed them in her empty bag at the last minute.

Hiccup was sitting against the wall opposite of the entrance and jumped up when he noticed her. Toothless was beside him, running up to greet Astrid with soft licks to her hand.

She reached into her bag, fumbling for the scraps of fabric and then handing one to Hiccup. She eyed Toothless nervously.

“Is this what I think it is?” 

“The first combat lesson I watched you teach was a lesson about on one versus three. Last time we had a private combat lesson, I promptly defeated you-”

“You have one win over my like, three hundred-”

“-and you challenged me. I figure we can combine those.” He takes the blindfold and ties it tightly at the back of her head. Astrid put a hand on her cocked hip.

“This seems totally unfair, are you going to be blindfolded too?” Hiccup brought her hand over and laid it on the piece of cloth on his face.

“I can’t fight Toothless while blindfolded, he’ll totally demolish me if I can’t see him.”

“Excuses will only get you killed.” She could hear the smile in Hiccup’s voice and she hated it, hated feeling out of her element, hated having her own cocky words turned and used against her. Most of all, she hated how she wanted to take the challenge.

“Fuck!” She screamed, jumping up and down in an attempt to get her blood flowing. “Let’s do this.” She took a fighting stance and listened as the ground moved beneath her opponents’ feet.

Hiccup signaled the start with a fierce yell and immediately she was thrown to the ground by large paws. She pushed herself up and kicked out, making contact with what she thought was Hiccup’s chest. She smiled, glad she could was able to hit her target even without her sight.

She heard the fast approach of four legs behind her and she moved to the left, listening as Toothless ran solidly into Hiccup. She let out a pre-emptive victory laugh.

“We’re just getting warmed up over here, don’t you worry.” Hiccup was breathless but she could hear the perseverance in his voice.

A sound to her left alerted her to step out of the way, but she soon found herself with her back against a hard chest. Hiccup wrapped his arms around her midsection before turning and pinning her to the ground. 

Astrid shoved her blindfold off angrily. Hiccup was above her, arrogant smirk shining through as he removed his own cloth from his eyes. Astrid shoved his arms off and stood shakily.

“Again.” Her command was harsh and she tried to steady her heartbeat before replacing her blindfold back over her eyes. Letting her emotions take over would only lead to more mistakes. 

Hiccup sounded off once more and this time she made the first move, headed towards where she could hear Toothless’ pants. She kicked out, grinning when she felt four paws sweep out from the ground. 

She was up and listening within seconds, unsure of Hiccup’s location. She heard a crunch of dirt behind her and she parried to the right, away from Toothless. A large whoosh of air hit her as Hiccup’s fist narrowly missed her jaw. She kicked slightly higher this time, the blow serving to buckle Hiccup’s knees successfully. She set her foot on his back and stuck a hand out to Toothless to stop him. She lifted her blindfold.

“I would have disabled Toothless when I first knocked him down, and I clearly-” she added slight pressure to her boot, “-have come out on top here.” She didn’t try very hard to wipe the smirk off her face as Hiccup flipped over and lifted his blindfold. She dropped herself down and laid on top of him, pressed chest to chest, pushing the fabric back down.

“Leave it on.” She whispered before capturing his mouth with hers. She brought her hand up to cup his cheek lightly before pulling away. She kept her eyes closed, feeling Hiccups hot breath against her lips.

“Why in the world does you fighting turn me on so much?” His hands moved from her waist up to cup her chest and she let out a soft moan. He moved in to kiss her again, but the low growl that sounded from Toothless caused him to pause.

“Well, guess we won’t be having any fun with him around.” Toothless kicked a pile of dirt their way, landing it solidly on Hiccup’s face. 

“Eugh-ew- why? Why would you do that? I stand by you faithfully for seven years and this is the repayment I get?” He sat up and rubbed at his eyes as the wolf let out a higher pitched noise that almost resembled a laugh. Astrid giggled at the interaction, slightly in awe at how much it resembled a normal, human conversation. Hiccup seemed to notice her gawking.

“It was just me and him for a while. We leaned how to communicate pretty effectively. I should have known back then that he would have some sort of mutated human genes, but honestly I’m just not that bright.” He stood then, offering her a hand up before turning to exit the arena. 

“We should probably head back to the hut, we wouldn’t want to be gone too late, just in case…” His unspoken words hung heavy in the air and Astrid nodded, following him back.

\---

Things were silent until a little over a week later, when Astrid was sat at the food hall testing one of Snotlout’s newest recipes and Eret approached her.

“News from the Meatheads, Drago’s on the move.” He sat down across from her, grabbing her spoon and bowl and taking a large bite.

Astrid perked up immediately, hardly noticing when he spit the food back out. “So now’s the time?”

Eret’s face was pinched in disgust. “How are you eating that?”

“I’m a guinea pig for Snot. It’s not that bad. Now, focus.”

He shook his head, but continued forward. “We should probably leave within the day if we want to make it to his camp and back before he has a chance to show up here.” 

They had argued over which course of action made sense for days. If they left while Drago was at the camp, the forces would be too strong and they would lose. If they left after Drago left camp, then they risked leaving their base vulnerable to his attack. Eventually, they compromised and decided they would bribe the Meatheads to send a scout to watch Drago’s camp and let them know when he left. They would move out quickly, overpower his camp and be back before he rounded up to their township. The Meatheads had responded excitedly when they offered Hiccup’s forge skills to improve upon their weaponry.

“I’ll let the others know to start packing.” She made to leave, but Eret laid his hand on her arm and she paused.

“You and Hiccup?” There was a tinge of disbelief to his voice and his eyes pleaded with her.

“It’s just- it’s not like- we haven’t really-” None of the words felt right, but her sputtering had caused his face to drop and his hand pulled away quickly.

She reached out, but he leaned back further so that her fingers just skirted his shirt.

“We should probably talk about this anyways.” She took a deep breath, hoping to channel her inner Heather.

“I know you think you love me or whatever, but I also happen to know you’re wrong.” She shut her eyes tightly, feeling as the red creeped up from her neck to her cheeks. She was sounding more like Ruff than Heather and now was not the time for it.

Eret was sitting silently with his hands folded on the table, waiting for her to continue before passing judgment.

“I just mean that I don’t think you’re capable of love right now.” He flinched and Astrid smacked her forehead down against the table lightly. The bench creaked as Eret moved to get up, and she panicked. 

“I’m safe for you!” He paused, back turned toward her, but he didn’t move further so she took that as a positive sign and continued on.

“I’ve seen the worst of you and I’m still here. There’s not a lot you could do to get me to abandon you, and you know that. I love you, and I always will and you’re able to be yourself around me even when it’s not pretty and that makes me a safe bet.” She twisted her fingers in her lap, waiting for some kind of reaction. After a moment he sat back down and Astrid let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“I’m not capable of love?” His voice was soft and filled with pain and Astrid’s heart wrenched.

“I just mean that you won’t put yourself out there to get hurt because you suffered so much and you haven’t dealt with that. So you choose to pretend to love me because I’m safe.” She searched his eyes for understanding but he remained guarded. She pushed forward anyways.

“It’s not me, Eret. It's never been me. But I was the choice standing right in front of you when you so desperately needed to feel. So I was okay with it then. But we’re about to go to war on Drago and you can quite literally face your demons. So I know you think you love me, but you’re wrong. I’m just the safe choice.” She patted him on the arm lightly before getting up and exiting the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just.. love how Astrid gets laid and she suddenly thinks she understand her emotions. That's my girl. 
> 
> If you haven't seen, I posted a celebratory 100 kudos drabble! It's part of the Hiccup Found Universe, which you can find right here on AO3!
> 
> Also I already have the next chapter written, its from Eret's POV and it's a lil bit shorter but the material is... so dense.
> 
> Lastly, I think I'm going to finish writing this entire story tonight?? I have a new fic in my head that I want to start so bad but I don't want to leave my zombie babies to dry so I am putting all my love and energy into them rn. If I DO finish this tonight, the I will probably post the rest of the chapters on an every other day basis!! 
> 
> Don't forget to find me on tumblr, @hiccupfound where I obsess over HTTYD and talk about my fic a lot! Come ask me questions and stuff!


	13. Eret’s a Mess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is from Eret’s pov, it’s shorter than usual bc the material is so dense. Hope you enjoy it!

Eret

The crew was up and moving out of the gates a few hours later, each of them carrying several of the large horse-shoe like tools. They had tested a prototype out on Toothless a few days ago, and while Hiccup was right, it wouldn’t hold them forever, it held him long enough to make a run for it. 

Astrid was at the head the group, setting a quick pace. Eret watched as she turned to Hiccup, brow crinkling as she laughed at something he had said. Eret envied her carefree attitude in such a tense situation. Every step they took towards Drago’s camp felt like he was cutting open another scar. 

Maybe Astrid was right. He had spent all this time thinking he had moved on, thinking he was going forward. But the second Drago was brought up he was back in his cell, watching from a distance as a mutated wolf was given entrance and orders to attack. 

They didn’t always listen, and he thinks that was the worst part. The not knowing. Some would enter and sit for hours, staring. Others would run and attack as soon as they were released. The worst were the ones who would prowl back and forth, waiting for the perfect moment. A shudder traveled down his spine and he shoved the memory back into its box.

Astrid said she thought this could bring him closure. He could literally fight his demons, she told him, as if it were that simple. While it sounded poetic, he wasn’t sure what was so therapeutic about attacking the beasts like they had him. Truly he wasn’t even confident in his ability to face them. Fighting Toothless had been hard enough, and he knew that wolf would never intentionally hurt him.

“There’s a herd up ahead.” Hiccup spoke while observing Toothless, who was running up ahead of the group. “Toothless is going to order them away.”

Eret studied Hiccup from behind, noticing for the first time how heavy his limp was. He wondered if it had always been that way or if he was just sore from all the training. 

Part of Eret really wanted to hate Hiccup for taking what he knew would never be his. He watched as Astrid hit Snotlout upside the head and scolded him for trying to pick some berries from a nearby tree. Eret shook his head. Astrid was a person, not a sandwich. He couldn’t own her.

He knew his possessive thoughts were part of the problem. He had worked so hard to isolate her in his mind, to put her on this pedestal that she never asked to be on. She was different from the rest of the group to him, because of what she had done. That first year after he escaped was the worst of them all. It sounds like a bold statement to make, considering all the time he spent locked up and tortured, but it was the truth.

He was so easily spooked and it irritated him to no end. Someone would be speaking behind his back, not even heading towards him and he would jump. Then he would get so blindingly mad they scared him, that before he knew it he was pinning them to the ground and attacking them. Eventually they were able to put up a pretty good fight, which in Eret’s twisted mind was only more reason to keep on brawling.

They wanted him gone. They never said it directly to him, but they would have been stupid to not to.They became tense when he approached, sometimes even backing away when he came into sight. It all just made him angrier. They didn’t know anything about him, they couldn’t even imagine what he had been through. They hated him because he was different and it all caused him to fight even harder.

Years later, Eret would look back and realize how sick his mind was, filling his heads with lies and twisting these situations to make everyone else look like the bad guy. 

Astrid took everything in stride, though. She broke up every fight she could, and when he threw punches at her, she never gave in and fought back, only serving to block blows and take him down when possible. She must have wanted to though, must have dreamt of wiping the floor with him like he now knew she was capable of.

The nightmares were the worst part. They weren’t always the same, but they always involved his cage and Drago’s beasts. During the day he spent every waking moment trying to pretend that the past three years had never happened and it was like his brain couldn’t contain it any longer, like it was a flood dam bursting and it let loose when he closed his eyes.

Astrid was there, though. Always waking him, always calming him down and always staying by him until he was able to fall back asleep. Eret had said and done everything he could have to make her hate him. She never faltered, though that didn’t mean she never got angry.

The first time he woke up to a face full of dirt he shrugged it off. The second time he watched as she stormed away, bucket clanking against her thigh. It wasn’t until about a week in that he realized he was being punished. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally, someone was giving him what he deserved. He had spent the past year acting like a complete ass, and no one had ever tried to get payback. Fight him after he initiated a brawl, sure. But that was different. The bucket, that was complete karma and Gods, he was so glad for it.

He’s not exactly sure when the nightmares stopped, and he definitely couldn’t tell anyone when he became friends with the people he’s surrounded by, but he knew it wouldn’t have happened without Astrid.

So did that make her the safe choice? In his mind it just made her the obvious one. She had stood by him, waited while he licked his wounds and then displayed him proudly as one of her closest comrades when he had proved himself. That’s unconditional and how could he not love her for that?

Ruffnut approached him just then. “You okay? You haven’t said much this trip.”

She was checking up on him without asking the big questions and that was out of character.

“I figured you would have led with ‘aren’t you scared to die by the one thing you always knew would bring you down?’” He feigned a casual tone and looked down to his feet.

“Didn’t think now would be the best time to bring that up.” She bumped her shoulder lightly against his before stepping away. “It’s almost time to face your demons, dude. I hope you’re ready.”

Eret shook his head, trying not to put weight in the fact that this was the second time today someone was treating this battle as a chance for his own closure. He watched as Ruffnut joined her brother and Snotlout, moving to grab the recon bag off Tuff’s shoulder.

He tried to figure out why sleeping with Ruff casually had come so easy to him. If he were being honest, he hadn’t even considered emotional feelings towards her. Was he too wrapped up in Astrid? Was Ruff not a safe choice?

He knew the answer to that. No, Ruff wasn’t a safe choice. The moment his nightmares had started back up she had shied away, brushing him off and only offering short remarks when he attempted to talk to her.

It’s not that he didn’t deserve that, because his hostile mannerisms had seemed to make a comeback in the last few weeks. He just wished that he didn’t have to explain himself, that people would just know.

He paused. That’s… not exactly fair, he realized. People can’t just know how he feels, especially when he’s not exactly sure himself. So then how did Astrid always know?

He ran up to the front of the group and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned and gave him a small smile.

“How do you always know what I need?” It was dumb in his head and it sounded even worse coming out of his mouth. 

Astrid let out a small laugh before shaking her head. “I spend the majority of my time forgetting to eat, getting way less sleep than I should and never, ever realizing my own emotions.”

“So?”

“So how the fuck am I going to know what you need when I can’t even keep track of myself?” She stopped moving and put a hand on his shoulder. “I just try my best, Eret. How many times have you walked away from me angry, calling me names or trying to fight me?” She shook her head once more before continuing forward, leaving him scratching his head.

Thor’s beard he’s a dumbass. What if.. What if Astrid really didn’t know? What if Astrid was just fumbling around, clueless like the rest of them? He really did hold her to another standard than the rest of the group. She was right, of course. He had spent quite a lot of time angry at her. The difference was, when it was Astrid, he figured it was exactly what he needed. He knew now that she might be right, that she might be safe. He would work on trying to knock her down a few pegs in his mind. 

For now though, he already felt more level-headed as they approached the settlement he swore he’d never return to. He cursed under his breath and glanced at Hiccup. If the kid wasn’t so damned likeable than he wouldn’t be here. But he came in with his giant beast and goofy smile and Eret couldn’t say no. 

They had all come to a stop just outside the eyeline of the camp. It was dark now and Toothless was pacing nervously around them. He too seemed to recall all his bad memories associated with this place.

“Everyone knows the plan and everyone has their tools and weapons.” Astrid drew her axe from her back, spinning with expert hands before looking to the twins.

“Get the explosives ready. We’re going to try to save as many as we can but..” she let the rest of her sentence hang heavily in the air.

“Get in, destroy the township, fuck up the bad guys and get out.” Tuff’s summary, though gruff remained accurate, so Astrid merely nodded before heading towards the walls of the settlement. She veered off to the right, Hiccup on her heels and Snotlout and Eret moved to the right. The twins circled around to the back. Heather and Fishlegs waited by the front gate, ready to bombard anyone who came in or out. They would all scale different walls and start in different areas, they hoped this would expedite the process.

Snotlout and Eret pressed hard against the wall when they heard patrol voices above them. When they had faded to almost nothing they began their ascent. Once they reached the top, Eret looked over the all too familiar scene. The town was mostly empty, save a few officers walking around with their giant wolves by their side. Snotlout gave Eret a swift nod before heading down to the ground level.

It didn’t take long for the patrol men to take notice of them and start to yelling. Eret felt the adrenaline flowing through his body as a wolf charged him head on. He took out one of his horse shoes and began wrestling until he had him pinned with the contraption. He smoothly took out his hammer and knocked out both men and began running, Snotlout by his side as the two wolves struggled for their freedom. 

They repeated this process several more times and it all seemed too easy. The beasts were too quick to pin down, the men weak. He knew they were merely a distraction for the guards so that they didn’t spot the twins, but it shouldn’t be this easy.

“Toothless no!” Hiccup’s screamed caught his attention immediately and he ran towards the sound. He found Hiccup on the ground, moving backwards from an advancing Toothless. He was growling viciously and his barred teeth showed less than good intentions. Behind him, Eret spotted Drago Bludvist, massive and scary and very clearly not gone.

Eret planted his feet in the ground, forcing himself not to flee. He looked around and noticed that there were more wolves than before, all coming up and forming a loose circle around the group. He couldn’t understand how they had all come to rally so fast, it was a large settlement and there was no way human word could spread that fast…

Realization hit Eret so hard he took a few reeling steps back. Human’s hadn’t commanded the wolves here. No, they had something much more powerful telling them what to do. 

Eret glanced around desperately. He knew it had to be here, had to have his eyes on them. He spotted it suddenly, on a hill near the fence line, looking on but making no move toward the rest of the pack. It was bigger than the others, which made sense. Currently, he could trace its eyeline straight back to Toothless.

Eret gulped. He had to put a stop to this. Toothless wouldn’t be able to stopped, he couldn’t resist the command he was so sure was about to be delivered. 

He looked for an opening in the tightening circle, any place he could cut through. Once he found a hole he deemed large enough, he ran off, heading towards the large wolf with all the power.

Heading towards the Alpha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eret has BIG Dumb Ass Energy and I love him all the more for it.


	14. The Alpha

Astrid

Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid.

She couldn’t believe how dumb they had been, how naive she was to have trusted the Meatheads. She watched desperately as Drago peered down at Hiccup and Toothless, a small smirk spreading across his face. She was trying to run towards them, trying to reach Hiccup but someone was holding her shoulders, pinning her in place.

He was sprawled on his back, trying to plead with an aggressive Toothless who looked like he had malicious intent. Astrid didn’t want to believe Toothless could turn on them so easily. But his normally large pupils were set into tiny slits and he no longer looked like the lovable dog that adored playing with the kids. He only looked like a killer as foam dripped menacingly from his fangs.

Drago’s eyes shot up suddenly and Astrid turned to see what he was looking at. She saw Eret, running up a hill towards an even larger wolf that seemed to be observing the scene.

“Try as much as you’d like, the Alpha is not so easily distracted.” His voice was menacing and the timber shook her to her core.

Alpha. Of course. Stupid stupid stupid. How had they not even thought about an alpha to control them all? They had been arrogant and too trusting. She said she would never do it again, but here she was. All her friends would die, and it would be all her fault. Nevermind her township, all the kids…

She broke out of the stunned hands that were holding her back suddenly and she felt her feet thundering against the ground until she reached her destination. She stood, weaponless and shaking in front of Drago Bludvist. He glanced down at her for only a moment before talking.

“You are young and naive. I thought the fire would have wiped you out, but of course it is the foolish who continue to live.”

Astrid flashbacked to the tall flames licking at her as she ran into burning huts, searching fruitlessly for anybody that was still breathing. She should have known. Stoick had agreed to peace, and he had intended to keep their agreement.

“You set flame to your own township?” There was disbelief in her voice, but the more she thought about it, the less she was surprised.

“The strong survived. It weeded out the weak. And it allowed me to get my revenge on Stoick the Vast.” Astrid took in the scars littering his body and she couldn’t help but feel that some looked too old to have happened during the apocalypse. 

“Toothless, listen to me. I’m here for you. You can hear me, I know it.” Astrid turned to see Hiccup, now standing and attempting to walk towards Toothless, who was not backing down.

Drago snapped and the Alpha let out a howl. Toothless jumped on top of Hiccup, skidding to the ground harshly. Astrid lunged forward and punched Drago in the stomach, satisfied when he let out a low oof.

Somehow Drago was in charge of the Alpha. She didn’t know what power he had, but she was sure the Alpha wouldn’t move without his command. If she could keep him distracted then Hiccup would stay safe. She had to keep him safe. 

Drago held a long staff in his hand that he promptly swung at her. She ducked and kicked out once more, lower this time, receiving a satisfying crack as her foot made contact with his knee. She had to keep this up, she would die before she let Drago take another life of a person she cared about. She was smacked to the ground as large paws hit her from behind.

“You made my job easier by coming here, and for that I would have granted you a quick death. But not anymore.” He raised his staff and brought it down.

\---

Hiccup

Toothless was standing with his front paws pressed painfully against Hiccup’s shoulders, but that was currently the least of his worries. His teeth snapped harshly at his neck and Hiccup attempted to hold him at arm’s length. 

“Toothless it’s me. Look at me!” Hiccup tried to capture his eyes, but he just continued to stare lifelessly through him. 

Hiccup reached up and attempted to touch his snout, but drew back slightly when the growls raised in volume.

“Please, bud. You’re my best friend. I need you. I’d be dead without you and… and I don’t want to live in a world without you.” His voice cracked on the last word and he felt wetness escape his eyes.

For a second, he swore he saw recognition in Toothless eyes. A slight enlargement of the pupils, maybe. He could have imagined it, but it was the only hope he had. He reached his hand back out.

“I love you, Toothless. You’re my best friend. I love you.” His palm was shaking and another guttural growl made it through. He closed his eyes, turned his head to the side and touched his snout. He flinched, preemptively, waiting for the killing strike. 

Instead he found a slobbery tongue on his cheek. He opened his eyes to wide pupils staring back and a practically giddy wolf. 

“That’s it that a boy!” Hiccup jumped to his feet and wrapped Toothless in a tight hug. He was just starting to feel that things were looking up when he felt teeth clamp down around his right arm. He was once again on his back, being dragged through the grass, away from Toothless and his friends.

\---

Eret

Eret had reached the wolf a lot faster than he would have thought possible. He looked up at it, and this close he could see it had to be three times the size of any other beast he had encountered. He swallowed roughly.

“Hey! Look down here ya dumb animal.” Stupid words for a stupid cause, he thought. He was going to die for this, so he might as well go all out.

The wolf took into a sitting position and shot a deadly look down to Eret. His blood ran cold and seeped through the soles of his feet, planting him to the spot. 

No no no. He was not going to freeze. He was a fighter, he had always been a fighter. So why was it impossible to lift his legs right now? What in Thor’s name did he need to do to get moving?

A shriek filled the air and he knew that sound. Normally it coincided with laughter, but right now it signaled extreme pain.

Astrid.

He raised his hammer then, and brought it down with all his force on the Alpha’s front paw. It cried out and the other paw reached out and swiped him to the side. It turned then, to face where Eret had landed head on.

This is good, he thought. The focus had been shifted to him. He just hoped he could distract it long enough to actually make a difference. It brought it’s paw down on his midsection just then, and Eret thought his insides were completely crushed. It was the worst pain he’d ever felt. He’d rather be back in his cell, animals nipping and scratching at him until near death instead of feeling this pain for another moment.

There was a whistle of movement to his right, and the Alpha must have noticed as well, as it lifted its paw and turned towards the motion. Eret sighed in relief at the loss of pressure and looked up to see a bloodied Hiccup in the mouth of a smaller wolf.

“Hiccup!” he cried out, but no answer came. Hiccup’s arm was hanging at an odd angle and his body dangled lifelessly.

Eret tried to stand but the Alpha shoved him roughly and he landed several feet away, a cracking sound coming from what he was pretty sure was his shoulder. Still, he continued to try and crawl forward.

Hiccup was on the ground now, still not moving and Eret searched for a rise and fall of his chest but he couldn’t see anything. He continued forward and he grunted as his body protested at the motion. There was hot pain shooting down his back and he was losing feeling in his fingertips.

He was able to reach Hiccup’s side after a few more minutes and the Alpha looked down on him, uninterested. The good news was he was so injured and weak he was no longer considered a threat. 

The alpha bared its teeth menacingly and let out a shrieking growl.

Or, it was just waiting so it could kill the two boys together.

Stupid stupid stupid. 

Eret watched in slow motion as the wolf raised its head and charged down. He closed his eyes, not brave enough to watch himself or Hiccup get eaten alive.

Eret felt the ground in front of him shake as something landed in front of him. He looked up to see that Toothless, taking a protective stance in front of the boys, had hit the Alpha’s jaws out of their line of fire.

\---

Astrid

Astrid refused to let out anymore screams. The rest of her team, save Eret and Hiccup, had been pulled up next to her. Drago said they would watch her torture before they each got their turn. After a wolf bit harshly into her upper thigh she had let out a pained howl and she’d heard a sob escape from somewhere nearby. She looked up to see Heather, toughest of all them, with tears spilling from her eyes.

No, she wouldn’t scream anymore, even though it was so tempting when the staff once again slapped harshly against Astrid’s bare stomach. The hit reverberated so hard that she was sure her intestines had shifted. She choked on the blood that filled her mouth from biting so hard on her lip.

There was a commotion behind her suddenly, and she opened her eyes to see a perplexed look on Drago’s face, his eyes following something in the distance once again. A flash of pure fury crossed his face and he stormed off, leaving the group with a pack of angry wolves. 

She wasn’t sure if she was able to move anymore, but she had to try. They knew how to take down the wolves, and this was their chance only chance to try and survive.

She pushed herself up slowly, feeling her spine pop painfully. She couldn’t think about it, if she did she would stop moving and curl up into a ball. She glanced over to her friends. 

They looked bruised and scared, but otherwise okay. She gave them her best attempt at a smile.

“Let’s… kick.. some ass.” Her breathing was ragged but her will was rock hard. Adrenaline began thrumming in her veins, roaring in her ears. She stumbled to her feet and felt her friends follow her lead. She counted the wolves. Six of them. One per person. Astrid felt slightly insulted, but mostly grateful for Drago’s arrogance.

“Pick your favorite, take them down and head to the alpha.” She looked towards her comrades one last time. “I love you guys.” 

Astrid lunged to the wolf in front of her.

It knocked her to the ground swiftly and she could see stars. She got up but her vision wouldn’t come back and she was pretty sure she was stumbling. She tried to shake her head but she could hear the wolf approaching her before her vision cleared and suddenly she was so grateful for blindfolded combat. 

She punched out with all her strength and made contact with a wet snout. She heard the animal skid across the ground and she rubbed her eyes quickly, vision returning in pieces. 

The wolf was running at her once more and she parried to the right, turning so she could grab it by the tail. She tugged on it with all her might, pulling it back to make one last hit on the head before mounting it and striking her horseshoe over its head and into the ground. 

She ran then, each step sending a sharp pain to her head. She put a hand to her forehead and it came away wet with blood. She watched as it dripped from her fingers and she worried about blood loss for the first time since she met Hiccup.

She halted when she came upon a scene she was sure she was hallucinating. Toothless was guarding two of her very injured companions, head held high against the much larger alpha. Drago was on the Alpha’s back, a group of wolves gathering behind them.

“Fight back! Fight back!” For the first time, Astrid heard fear in Drago’s voice. 

It felt like salve on a bad burn, painkillers for a bad headache. She felt refreshed, ready for battle. She continued forward until she was standing by the two lifeless bodies. She leant down and was relieved to find steady pulses. Eret shifted under her touch and gave her a weak smile.

“You look like shit.” His voice was ragged and the humor felt forced, but she laughed anyways.

“You have no room to talk, I literally thought you were dead.” Her voice cracked on the last word and she tried to hold back her tears, she really did.

She snapped her head up as Toothless lunged forward, attacking. Astrid gasped as realization hit her.

“He’s challenging the Alpha!” She watched in awe as Toothless delivered blow after blow. The Alpha might be bigger and stronger, but it couldn’t rival Toothless’ speed. 

One by one, wolves broke free of the spell and headed to the otherside, fighting with Toothless until the alpha relented, bowing its head at Toothless.

“No! You cannot lose! Fight back!” Drago’s screams echoed through the township and Astrid almost felt bad for him, almost wanted to spare his life. 

Almost. 

Toothless gave her a questioning look and she nodded, walking away as the alpha gave his bloody order.

\---

The trip back to the township was pure agony. Astrid’s adrenaline had worn off about ten minutes after Toothless’ epic win and she could barely move. 

She knew there was the option to stay and recover at the now destroyed township, but she looked around at the bloodstained grass, the torn down walls and the destroyed buildings and she pictured Eret waking up, confused and the first thing he sees is his old grounds. She just couldn’t do it. So she set a still unconscious Hiccup on Toothless’ back, helped Ruffnut hoist Eret onto a red wolf’s back and then sent them off. Fishlegs had already gone on ahead to get a medical hut ready. She went to help pack up the rest of the people who needed shelter and were caught under Drago’s thumb, but her next step had her collapsing. She cried out loudly, unaware she was even in pain until that moment.

Ruff was by her in an instant, calling out her name and signalling for help. They wanted to put her on wolf, but there was none left that knew the way back. A local pointed towards a blue and gold beauty.

“She’s a tracker. She can still pick up the scent and she’ll know to follow it.”

So just like that she was sent packing. The wolf was so large it was practically like laying on a bed, but as it trotted forward every jolt filled her with agony and the pain roiled in her stomach, turning to nausea. 

Death would have been better, she knew it right then. Blackness sounded welcoming as she knew there was only more pain to come. She made a liar out of herself quickly, though as when her vision tried to fade to black she fought it, not letting herself succumb until she saw Fishlegs’ large body looming above her, muttering words she couldn’t hear.

He began tending to her with wild hands that she felt were everywhere at once. He was glancing at her worriedly and maybe even asking her questions but the roaring in her ears was louder and she could only managed a garbled reply, which she hoped sounded better than it felt in her throat. 

She was transferred to a medical hut, where she was handed a cup of ale. Fish legs signaled for her to drink, and she drained it in three sips. The pain receded then, and everything went fuzzy. She tried to hang on as sleep threatened, but in the end it won and the blackness finally came over her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the pacing in this chapter could have been better but like.. this was never supposed to be an action packed fic, and I’m a very new writer so overall I’m happy with what I put together. These characters are my babies, and they’re so damaged but they have so much love to GIVE. I adore them and I’m so sad that I’m starting to wrap up their story.


	15. The Awakening

Hiccup

Hiccup was the first to permanently regain consciousness out of the three of them. It felt more like a curse than anything as he watched Astrid twist in her tangled sheets. The fever dreams hadn’t hit her as hard as Eret, but in her brief moments of awareness she was more apt to scream or moan in pain. 

Hiccup had watched her take a hammer to the jaw without flinching once during combat training. He was amazed at her pain tolerance level, so he knew the agony she must be in to be making those heart wrenching noises. 

It had been a little over a week since the battle with Drago. His arm was still in a sling and he was positive he would never be able to walk without a limp; not that he was very successful in that department before the battle. 

If he was being honest, he really didn’t remember much that had happened after Toothless knocked him to the ground. Fishlegs told him that was probably for the best, but Hiccup wasn’t so sure. If those were going to be his last memories with Eret and Astrid then he would want to remember them, even if they were painful. 

He looked to Eret now, who was finally laying still on his cot. Hiccup didn’t know if that was a good or bad sign that his flailing movements had stopped. Astrid lay against the other wall and he sat on a chair between the two, alternating care on whoever needed it at the time. He had hardly left the medical hut since he woke up, save to help the new townspeople when they needed it. Adjusting to life with the new mutant wolves and the influx of people around had proven to be easier than thought, but that didn’t mean it came without difficulties. 

Most of the wolves were just as emotionally damaged as Eret, flinching when approached too fast and becoming aggressive far quicker than Toothless ever had. But he was the Alpha now, and he’d been busy calming down out of control animals. Hiccup had hardly seen him, but the moments they were together truly reminded him how lucky he was to have his best friend around. The people, who were used to constant torture were thankful for their freedom, but kept their distance from most interactions. 

Hiccup’s head snapped up when Eret began to stir, making a small moaning noise before opening his eyes. He held his breath, begging himself to not be disappointed if they closed again. It had happened so many times already, and the dismay crushed him every time they fluttered back shut. 

But he didn’t need to worry. Eret stayed staring at the ceiling for a moment, unfocused and confused before landing on Hiccup. 

“I thought you were dead.” He tried to keep his voice steady but the Gods were not on his side. 

Eret merely stared at him before attempting to sit up. Hiccup pushed his shoulders back down and he must have been in extreme pain because he complied. 

“I knew this wasn’t the afterlife as soon as I laid eyes on you. Guess I’m stuck in this shithole apocalypse world.” 

Hiccup gave a sharp laugh that was more from relief than actual humor. He hadn’t realized until this moment, but he thought he’d never hear Eret’s voice again. There was wetness on his cheeks before he could truly gather his bearings. Eret have him a small smile that meant more than words could ever say. 

“How’s everything going? How long have you been awake? How is everyone?” His words were coming fast but they were slurred and Hiccup pat him on the shoulder lightly, urging him to slow down. 

“You can’t ask me so much at once. My brain isn’t what it used to be. First my head injury and then this battle, I don’t think I’ll ever go back to normal.” He tugged on the sling around his neck nervously. 

“When did you wake up?” 

“About two days after we got back. Toothless was laying on my feet and it was pitch black out and I really had to pee. By the time Fishlegs found me I was about three feet from the hut, laying on my back. I told him I was watching the stars but the truth was I had fallen and didn’t have the energy to pull myself back up.” Toothless had gone to get the medic, thank Thor he was around. 

“Where’s Astrid?” 

Hiccup gestured over his shoulder, to the unconscious girl that he really couldn’t bare to look at right now. Eret sat up slowly and widened his eyes when they landed on Astrid. 

She was definitely worst for the ware. Her entire body was covered in black and blues, she had several broken ribs and a head injury that Hiccup knew might kill her. Fishlegs wouldn’t respond when he asked the chances of her waking up. He wasn’t sure if it was because it was that bad, or if the man simply didn’t know. 

“How’s the town?” Eret kept his eyes on Astrid while he spoke, face paling and hands twisting nervously in his lap. 

“Let’s just say it’s a good thing we expanded the fence. Most people were being held at Drago’s township against their will. They were all too eager to get out.”

“Is there anyone left there?” He swung his legs over the bed and made as if to stand up, but stayed with his hands gripping the edge of the cot. 

“A few decided to hang back. Snot said they were kind of at a standstill as to what to do next. They aren’t the ones who usually deal with this, I guess.” Hiccup twisted his hands nervously in his lap. Astrid was the leader, and he had never thought of what the gang would do without her. Mostly because he was so new to this group, but also because she’d simply seen untouchable. 

“I really hope Snot never has to be the one to make decisions like that.” Eret let out a dry chuckle, but it sounded forced and only served to twist Hiccup’s stomach in a tighter knot. He missed the easygoing Eret that was present when he first arrived. 

An uncomfortable silence settled over them and suddenly Hiccup wanted to leave the hut. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been gone for more than just food or bathing. 

“You should rest some more. I think I’m going to head over to the food hall to… eat.” Gods, why was he being so awkward right now? 

Eret looked him over before a giggle burst from his lips. Suddenly he was doubled over, hands on his knees and wincing in pain as his laughter took over. 

“Gods, we did it. We took Drago down and you can’t even hold a proper conversation.” 

Hiccup understood suddenly. Eret was relieved. Despite the bleak atmosphere that had stood stagnant in this room for the past week, he was a reminder that they were alive. During the apocalypse, which was unfortunate, but looking at Eret with pure bliss on his face, Hiccup thought back to something Astrid had said to him earlier. 

“You just have to roll with it, or else you suffocate under the possibilities.”

She was right, and he hadn’t realized it back then. He had spent so much time wishing things were different. Without the apocalypse he’d still have his leg, he’d still have his dad and he’d be able to still be normal. Though truly he wasn’t sure what normal was anymore, not after all the fucked up years he has lived since the dead started walking. 

But at the same time, if it had never happened then he wouldn’t have anything he had now. He thought about a scene he’d witnessed yesterday. Ruffnut and Snotlout leant over a pot of an herbal tea that Snotlout swore would help with Hiccup’s sore limb. They were arguing over an herb that no one could positively identify. 

“Why don’t you put it in the boiling water and you can taste it.” Ruff dropped the spoon into the pot, exasperatedly crossing her arms. 

“This is a tea for sore limbs, Thorston. Do I look like someone who gets sore?” He flexed his arms so hard his eyes began to bulge. 

Eventually Snotlout gave in, throwing the herb in and tasting it. He spit it out dramatically and the entire group watched in amusement as he ran in circles, searching for something to get the taste out of his mouth. It felt like home, something he hadn’t known was missing. It was a feeling that had nudged at him before, but it had never hit him fully before that moment. 

Without the apocalypse, he’d never met any of them. Not Toothless, not Astrid and not any of the gang. This was his family now, and he couldn’t imagine his life without them. For so long he had been wondering what his life would look like without zombies, but it didn’t matter. This was his future now. 

His head snapped towards the door as Heather entered. She pointedly did not look towards Astrid’s corner and Hiccup felt pity tug at his heart. She wasn’t taking Astrid’s injuries well. 

“There’s— there’s someone at the gate for you.” She tugged nervously at her black braid and he noticed the dark circles under her eyes. It was unsettling to see Heather so vulnerable. When Hiccup had first arrived, she was so calm and collected. He looked at her frazzled appearance for a moment before nodding and standing up. 

“I’ll see you later?” He turned towards Eret and then followed Heather to the front of the township. 

Before they reached the gate, Heather turned and stepped out in front of him. 

“This might be shocking so just… don’t pass out or something okay?” 

Hiccup didn’t respond, he simply stepped around her as it dawned on him that there was only one person who could possibly come visit him.

“Hiccup!” 

The voice sounded achingly familiar and suddenly his legs felt weak beneath him. He stumbled forward until the large man came into view. 

He ran forward to embrace Stoick the Vast. 

—

Astrid

When her eyes cracked open it felt as if every lamp in the room was lit. It took her a moment to remember that wasn’t possible; there was no electricity anymore. She let her pupils adjust before opening them fully and taking in her surroundings. 

She was in an unfamiliar hut that was lit with about ten candles. In the far corner from her was an empty cot and she realized she was alone. She wasn’t sure if that was good or bad, but she took it as a chance to collect her thoughts. 

Pain. Blinding pain is all she could remember. Wait, maybe that’s because it’s all she could feel. Her back ached, her head felt as if it was going to split open and every breath she took reminded her of each separate rib. She thought about sitting up but honestly was convinced the pain would cause her to black out. 

So she lay there, reflecting on anything she could remember. 

Drago had been defeated. She remembered that clearly. Toothless has broken free from an impossible grasp and had saved them all. 

Toothless had killed Drago. 

She swallowed against a dry throat and turned on her side, flinching as her spine popped loudly. 

She had tried so hard for the past few years to save everyone. Astrid had worked tirelessly to take people in who needed shelter. 

In the end, she knew Drago wasn’t capable of reform. She could either execute him, or keep him as a prisoner. She didn’t see the advantage to that though, and after watching the destruction he was willing to cause, she had few qualms about her decision. 

She heard the laughter before the door opened. Hiccup walked in, murmuring something about a “pain in the ass” before shutting the door and turning to look at her. 

He froze, hand still on the knob and mouth partly open. Astrid felt her heart speed up and for the first time since she woke up she forgot about her pain. 

“You’re alive.” His voice was tinged with disbelief. 

“I sure as Hel hope this isn’t Valhalla.” She gave a small smile, wishing so bad she could push herself up. His concerned gaze on her vulnerable body was unnerving. 

“I want to hug you, just so you know. But I’m not going to because I think it would break any bones in your body that aren’t already.” 

She laughed and it caused a sharp pain in her head. “We’ll have plenty of time for that later.” She said this for his benefit, because she honestly thought the pain might kill her. She tried to unball her fists but somehow that increased the hurt even more. She let out a sigh, trying to cover up her discomfort. 

“I wish we could give you something for the pain. Snotlout is brewing up some really strong mead for you, but it isn’t ready yet. He wanted to start it earlier but Fishlegs told him to wait because…” Hiccup shifted uncomfortably and the implication of his unsaid words hung in the air. 

“You’re remarkably calm for someone who is talking to a person who was assumed dead.” 

She was trying to keep the mood light, trying to not think about how close she was to death. Looking at Hiccup now, she could tell how unstable things had been without her. She wanted to ask him what was going on, wanted to be immediately caught up so she could help out. 

He took a few shaky steps before setting himself in the chair beside the bed. Not so collected after all, she thought. 

“If I thought you dead, I don’t think I would have been able to go on. Not for a while, at least.”

She understood what he meant. She thought of the days after the fire. Devastation settled deep in her bones and it weighed her down. Staying in bed was the most tempting thing in those times, but she needed to rebuild so she could help others. 

The fire. Oh my Gods, Stoick wasn’t responsible for the fire. 

“Hiccup—“

“My dad’s here.” She froze at his words. He shifted in the chair, hand hovering above her own before he pulled back. 

“He came a few days ago. I guess Drago’s defeat spread quickly. Someone mentioned a scrawny kid with red hair and a giant wolf and he knew. He went to Drago’s camp first and they pointed him here.” 

He was talking fast and clearly was nervous. She had never told him what Stoick had done to betray her township and she wasn’t sure if anyone else was aware that Drago had set him up. Essentially, Hiccup felt as if he had let a traitor in. 

“He told me he didn’t do it, Astrid. He swore and I could tell he wasn’t lying.” Her silence seemed to set him on edge and his voice was growing desperate. She reached out and touched his face lightly. He leaned his cheek against her palm. 

“It’s okay. Drago admitted to everything like the cliche villain he was. I’m just sorry that Stoick never tried to reach out to explain before. It would have been nice to have an actual ally.”

The Meatheads had betrayed her, and there wasn’t much time to think about that before now. The realization of the situation hit her fully and settled heavily in her gut. 

“He’d love to meet with you again and draw up an actual treaty. He said he could even help with recolonization of your new township.” 

“It would be nice to have someone who might actually know what they’re doing.” These past few years have been driven by the pure instinct to survive. And while she had great instincts, she had zero experience prior to this and she had no doubt Stoick could assist. 

Hiccup had said your township. Her responsibility had doubled and she had spent all this time asleep. She hoped the hardest part was over, that it could be smooth sailing from now on. 

“You’ve done an amazing job here. We were just teenagers when this happened and you could have caved in on yourself. But you didn’t. You looked around and saw people needed you so you stepped the fuck up. Give yourself some credit.” His speech sounded rehearsed and the intensity of it shocked her. How long had he been thinking about this?

“Thank you, Hiccup. It’s not just me though. It’s all of us.” She placed her hand over his. “As a team.” 

“My dad wants me to come back with home with him.”

She withdrew her hand. It was more based on instinct than anything but he flinched. Her heart dropped at the word home. 

“And what do you say to that?” She searched his face, normally full of emotion but it didn’t give anything away. 

“I want some time with him, of course. It’s been so long and we’re both different. I think we could get along now, but..” he gave her a small smirk. 

“But..?” She prompted. 

“I love you, Astrid. Fuck the apocalypse and what it’s done, but it brought me to you and I would never give that up.” 

“You’re assuming I’ll let you stay.” 

“I’m willing to make some concessions, if I have to.” He pulled lightly on her hair, which she only just now realized was hanging loosely. 

She purses her lips and tried to look contemplative. “You can only stay if you start taking combat Wednesday’s more seriously. I’m so tired of holding back on you.” She tried to hold back the smile tugging at her lips as his mouth fell open. 

“So we’re going to just pretend that I didn’t totally take you down a few weeks ago?”

“Those are my terms.” She stuck out her palm, ignoring her protesting muscles. 

He hesitated only a moment before firmly grabbing it and shaking. 

He stayed a while longer, catching her up on everything that had happened, from the township news to Eret waking up and everything in between. It was past dark when he got up to leave and collect the rest of the gang to say hello. 

“Hey Hiccup?” He had his hand on the knob and he laid a curious gaze on her. 

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve decided that there will be two chapters left after this. I’m like... really sad to be saying goodbye to this universe. This story was never about angst. I really wanted to create nontoxic characters who had used their shitty circumstances as a chance to open their hearts and help others. And I love them so much because of it. Every single person in this universe has a reason to not trust others but the refuse to let their trauma change their core beliefs.   
> I’m getting emotional over this and I could go on forever so if you wanna know more pls come message me on tumblr @hiccupfound bc I could talk about these babies FOREVER


	16. Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a shorter chapter but that’s just because it’s time to wrap this story up. Last chapter will be the epilogue, idk if I want it set 5 or 10 years in the future or if I want Hiccstrid to have kids or not. If you have an opinion, let me know on tumblr or in the comments! @hiccupfound

The day Astrid was cleared to move freely around the township came about six weeks after she woke up. It was hard earned, and came with many sleepless nights because of the amount of pain she was in. 

It was like nothing she had ever imagined, and she found her thoughts drifting to the zombs, wondering if they walked around numb and lifeless or if there groans were a result of constant agony. She thought, during one of her fever induced highs, that the walking dead was an inevitable fate, the result of a toxic society that thought it could outsmart the circle of life. She wasn’t sure what caused the outbreak, but she knew it was something human made.

It took about three weeks after she woke up for her to fully come to her senses. After the initial adrenaline of consciousness had passed, the full scale of her injuries hit her, and she was left in a hazy state between living and dead that made it hard to communicate. People’s words fell from their lips in forms of gibberish and it made it impossible to talk back. The candle by her bedside was both blinding and not bright enough, her blanket too hot yet not thick enough to halt her shivering.

So when she finally, truly woke up she was ready to climb out of bed and greet her townspeople like the loving leader she had always strived to be. But she was stopped by a flailing Fishlegs, who came running into the room and lightly shoved her back into the cot.

“You’re not healed, Astrid. Your body is exhausted and if you push it too hard right now you’re going to end up back in a fever state.” His eyes skirted over her with a keen glance and suddenly she had the urge to look in the mirror. She must look bad, if Fish’s stare was anything to go by. She brushed his arms away and sighed deeply.

“I’m going stir crazy in here ‘Legs.” 

“I have it on record that you just woke up mere minutes ago. No one, not even you, can grow tired of sitting still that quickly.” His hands settled on his hips and for a moment Astrid got a flash of her mother, scolding her after she fell out of yet another tree. She wondered what she would say if she were here right now.

So she sat back, not for herself but for the people who were lost that would never have the option to relax again. She vowed to think about her parents more often, because dead or not, they were just as important to her as the people surrounding her now. Fishlegs offered her a small smile and exited, telling Astrid he would be back with something for her to eat.

Soon after Astrid finished her dinner and was glancing longingly out the window, the door creaked open to reveal a scrawny man and a red headed, seven foot tall one that barely fit through the doorway.

She sat up abruptly. “Hiccup.” She turned towards the larger man and tried to wipe the surprised look off her face. 

“Stoick.” She hoped her high-pitched voice could be passed for lack of use rather than nervousness.

“It’s a great pleasure to meet you, Astrid. Hiccup has told me all about you and the work you have done for these people, but truly nothing can do justice as much as seeing it.” He took a timid step forward before continuing. “You have to breakdown your chore process to me; I can never seem to get anyone to cook back home.” He sat down precariously in the chair next to her and Astrid broke out into an ear-splitting grin, diving into the topic without a second thought.

Life had never seemed more beautiful than in that moment. Hiccup sat next to her, hand lightly stroking her back. Even though her ribs were probably mostly healed by then, every finger tap against her spine sent reverberations to the sore bones beneath. As weird as the sensation was, she had no desire for him to pull away. The pain served as a reminder of everything that had happened, and the three of them sitting there, laughing and talking until the sun grazed the horizon was a promise of a better future. She was thankful for it all.

So when, at week six, Astrid was given the go ahead to leave the medical hut, she snatched Hiccup’s hand eagerly and stumbled to the door. He followed happily, just as excited for her to be able to return to a normal life. Well, post apocalypse normal, at least. 

As she walked around that day, she found herself deeply impressed by the state of the town. It wasn’t that she thought the place would fall apart without her leadership, but she wasn’t expecting everything to run so smoothly. Ruffnut shook her head slowly.

“You taught us well. We’re not quite as incompetent as we pretend to be.” She glanced towards where Snotlout and Eret were in handstands, attempting combat using only their feet. Ruffnut sighed exasperatedly.

“Well, maybe we just got lucky this time around.”

Astrid shook her head. “This has always been ours. The whole team has helped run this place and got us here.” She glanced away quickly, her eyes welling up in sudden emotion.

Hiccup gestured towards her friends. “Now that you see everyone is still stable, why don’t you come hang out with your friends? Snotlout has been getting too cocky without you there to keep his ego in check.”

She spent the rest of the day surrounded by her surrogate family. Heather cried when she walked towards her, and Astrid remembered the girl who sat next to her in science class; cold and unfeeling. Sometimes, especially in the earlier days she thought nothing had changed about Heather. It was easy to feel that Heather didn’t care about the others; that she had just chosen them as the best route for her survival. Her analytical style left very little room for emotional connection. But watching her in that moment Astrid knew that wasn’t the truth. They had all cracked through to her tightly held interior. 

Even though they had all spent a substantial amount of time in the medical hut, this was much different. That room was small, and they couldn’t all fit in it at once. This was their first time together as a group since the attack on Drago’s town. It felt like nothing had changed and for that she was relieved. In a life like this, after huge events like that, consistency was something people desperately needed. 

She watched as Eret interacted with the wolves. Hesitant and unsure, but with a spark in his eye that told her he was trying to move forward. For a while he had let his trauma define him, and after that he had ignored it. Now he would refuse to let it drown him. It was a sight that made her heart swell. 

She looked around at the group, watching as they laughed and swapped insults without a second thought to the nightmare that lived beyond the fence. They weren’t just surviving. In this moment, they were thriving.

“But what if you could go back and stop that first bite? Would you do it?”

The words had haunted her since Hiccup had asked her. She had given him an evasive answer, even though it was mostly true. She couldn’t think about what life would be like without the zombs because it was a dangerous line of thinking. Everyone assumed life would be better, but in this moment right now, with her companions by her side, she just couldn’t see how that would be possible.

They had taken nothing and built it up, just because they thought they could. They thought they could provide safety and shelter from the monsters outside so they fucking did it. It felt like impossible task at the time, but here they sat now, ready to take on more.

Stoick had informed her of a township just to the west of his, about a week ago. The people were being held against their will and trained as fighters to take down the walkers. An uprising had just occurred but failed miserably, so he had heard.

“What do you think?” She glanced towards Hiccup, who was staring off with a contemplative look. 

“What about the townships you have right now?” He shifted on the cot, bringing his prosthetic leg up and underneath him.

“What about them? Those people are free and have taken to our township set-up full heartedly.”

He paused, giving Toothless a scratch under his ear, a smirk spreading across his face. “We’re raiders now, aren’t we?”

“A regular Bonnie and Clyde, except there are seven of us and we’re not near as cool.” She wiggles her eyebrows animatedly. 

Hiccup shrugged. “We have wolves, that has to count for something.”

He was right; the wolves seemed to make extremely personable bonds and each member of her team had a new lifelong friend. Eret, though slightly nervous about it, was now inseparable from the one who had ran back to the settlement to keep him alive. The twins had claimed an extreme mutant wolf; one with two heads. Though truly it seemed the wolf had a greater claim on them than the other way around.

During her fevers Astrid often felt wiry fur beneath her fingers. When she awoke Hiccup informed her that the wolf that had carried her home seemed to sense her distress in the worst of times and was present almost the entire time. 

She weathered my storm, Astrid thought amazedly.

“Stormfly,” she said out loud. The wolf let out a high pitched bark that she felt was agreement on the new name.

She had since came to visit a few times, but ultimately watched her from the window. 

So she had talked to her team and they had all agreed. After Astrid was healed and the dust in the new township settled, they would follow Stoick and do right by the people. 

Hiccup tapped her on the shoulder, pulling her back to reality. 

“You wanna get out of here? It’d be nice to spend some time just the two of us before we leave.” The implication sat in the air and she nodded her head, scrambling up and dragging him back to their hut.

“We’ll see you guys later? Like way later.” Astrid ignored the intermixed groans whoops behind her, focusing on the calloused palm in her hand.

Life would be different now. Hiccup had come and turned everything upside down. She thought back to his confession; how she thought it would lead to the end of her township and the death of all her people. Instead they were able to come together to save an entire village and the animals that were imprisoned in it. 

They could have been bitter, anyone who had lost as much as they had would have every right to be. I’m a different universe, where they allowed their sadness and anger to eat at them, they could have ended up working for Drago. Some nights, during the peak of her recovery, it scared Astrid how much his twisted view made sense when she sat and thought about it. 

At the end of the day, he was a scared man who had lost everything and was ready to sacrifice others for what he considered the greater good. If he could get the wolves developed enough, he could have possibly solved the zombie problem, at least on this island. Through the years though, his ideology became even more warped and it served to prove how sick of a man he truly was. 

He wasn’t right, though. Torturing and killing others to try and find a solution would never be the correct way to go about a situation. She had to stick to her beliefs, or else she wouldn’t be a leader worth following. 

Hiccup began talking excitedly, flailing his hands and it brought Astrid back to the present. She watched him, attempting to focus on his words but unable to. So she kissed him instead, and relished in the safe feeling she never thought she would have again.


	17. Epilogue

10 years later

“Astrid, my girl! Great to see you!” 

Astrid gasped as she was enveloped into a bear hug by a seven foot red head. 

“Stoick! I’m so glad we could stop by the settlement.” She was plopped down on the ground gracefully and extended at arms length, her father-in-law giving her a once over. 

“You look oddly amazing for someone that just completed an undercover coup d'etat in a corrupt village. In fact, you look more like you just came back from a vacation!” Stoick eyes her suspiciously, but was distracted by his son’s arrival. 

“Hiccup, my boy! Now, here is someone that looks like they just got off the battlefront.” 

Hiccup was heavily limping, working to re-wrap the bandages on his left arm while he entered his old home. He shot a glare in his dad’s direction. 

“Well dad, it seems as if even during the post-apocalyptic world we live in people are sexist. Imagine, my axe wielding wife standing right beside me, battle cry already ringing out and all these mad men are coming at me! Like I’m the bigger threat!” 

“Maybe they just assumed it was better to get the easier target out of the way,” Astrid pointed out. 

Hiccup feigned insult. “I wouldn’t say I’m an easy target…” 

It had been ten years since the undertaking of Drago’s settlement. In that time, their group had managed to free eight other settlements from the grasp of corrupt leaders. No township was the same. Each person had their own twisted mindset, often forcing the team to go undercover and enter as a civilian, gathering intel until a large enough rebellion could be built. 

This particular rebellion, which had consisted of only Hiccup and Astrid directly inserting themselves, had taken the better part of two years. The rules were particularly harsh and many of the people had been manipulated into believing their way of life was the only to survive. It was a dark place with strict supervision. 

They were sure to be seen in the township working several times a week, but on the days they had the ability to sneak away they would come to Stoick’s camp. It was the known meet up for all of the gang if anyone was deployed into unknown territory. 

“Is anyone else here? And Stoick, where are my children?”

“Ah, Astrid you know I can’t keep track of those two. Zephyr is a leader in her own right and Nuffink is fascinated with the forge! Not unlike his daddy.” 

“Well I guess we’ll start there.” Astrid rolled her eyes before continuing down the hill, Hiccup on her heels. 

Kids, honestly had never been apart of her plan. It’s not that she didn’t want them, or love the ones she had madly, it was more that she never wanted them to have to grow up knowing the heartbreak and pain that a world like this one has provided to her. 

But post apocalyptic birth control methods were mediocre at best, and twice she had found herself pregnant, and surprisingly happy about it. 

Leaving her kids was the worst part, but every time they got word of a new camp in need of help, the entire group sat down and went over the details, deciding together who would be best for the mission. Sometimes there were odd groupings. One mission took place at a female only township. Another required the people to pass an intense physical test. 

There had developed unbending rules over the years to accommodate the sometimes odd circumstances. First, they would never undertake more than one township at a time. Their group had never grown any larger and they wanted to make sure they were putting all their focus into freeing the people as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

Second, if they thought the mission would take longer than two years, at least four people would have to go undercover. This was important because it allowed them to gain more intel, and have at least three other people they could rely on. 

The third, and probably the most important rule was that they had to check in at least once a week. Some camps were too far away from Stoick’s home base and that required a little bit of creative thinking on their part. Luckily, they all had smart mutant wolves that would loyally and discreetly wait outside of the walls to deliver messages. 

“The forge has smoke coming out of the chimney, that means someone’s in there.” 

“It’s probably Tuffnut, he’s been trying for ages to impress Nuffink. I keep telling him, ‘the kids only four, just pull a quarter out of his ear.’”

“Where in the world would he get a quarter, Astrid?” 

Her hands flew into the air. “It doesn’t have to be a quarter! The sentiment remains the same. He doesn’t have to make swords or shields or—” 

“You’re just nervous that your kid’s going to be better at handling an axe than you.” 

“What! No that’s— why would you say that I— he’s four! Who would ever let a four year old make them that insecure?” She cast her eyes to the sky, watching as the dark clouds built steadily. 

“First of all, that four year old can hit a target with more accuracy than any of us besides you. Second off, he’s the offspring of Astrid Haddock, so it’s only natural that he will one day surpass you.”

She pushed him lightly as they made their way to the door. “You can say it as many times as you’d like, but it doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t take your last name.”

“Not yet, at least. Nuffink!” Hiccup held his arms open as a blur of blonde vaulted into his arms. 

“Aunt Ruff stopped by and now uncle Tuff is crying.” Nuffink’s concerned tone caused a warmth to spread in Astrid’s chest and she engulfed the two boys in a bone crunching hug. 

“Nuf, I missed you and your sister so much!” She pulled back and held him at arm's length. “Now where is she? It’s unlike her to not be at the gates to greet us as soon as we get home.”

“She went out with Toothless to play with the walkers.”

Astrid paled, Hiccup gasped. 

“Your sister left the gates? Like, outside?”

“Yeah, with Toothless.” Nuffink shrugged and reached for the sword on the table closest to Astrid. 

“What your youngest child fails to tell you is that uncle Eret accompanied both of them out there.” Eret appeared through the door with a wide eyed Zephyr on his back. “What do you have to worry about anyways? With Toothless by her side no harm would ever come.”

“I saw a whole hoard of zombies! Toothless walked up to them and barked at them and then they followed him around!” 

“He’s quite an amazing beast, isn’t he?” Astrid watched in the distance as Stormfly and Toothless rolled in the grass, practically oblivious to their surroundings. She couldn’t fight the smile that spread across her face. 

“Why don’t we go get ready for dinner, kiddos? Tomorrow we’re heading back home so it’ll be your last dinner with grandpa.”

Zephyr raised her eyebrows. “Home? You have no more missions?”

Hiccup and Astrid glanced at one another over their children’s heads. 

“This next mission will have everyone moving back to home base, for now. We can talk about it later. For now, let’s go get cleaned up!” She paraded the two babbling children out the door before waving both hello and goodbye to her companions inside. 

—-

“This isn’t like anything we’ve taken on yet. Ten years and this is the first time we’re considering something of this magnitude.” Fishlegs shook his head nervously. “Who’s to say if we’re even equipped to do this?” 

Two days had passed since they arrived back to their home base: the original township and Astrid and co had founded. They were just sitting down for their first briefing and everyone was nervous with the change of direction they were considering. 

“We were never equipped to take on any of the things that we did.” Astrid listed the events on her fingers. “We were in no way qualified to start a camp, we went into Drago’s town with our middle fingers in the air and since then we’ve just been winging it. How is this any different?” Astrid leaned back in her chair. She glanced around at the familiar hut; the one they had all lived in all those years ago. It was now her and Hiccup’s main home, as well as the place they held all their strategy meetings. The nostalgia of it all never seemed to wear off, especially since they all spent so little time actually here. 

“You’re talking about leaving the island, uprooting everything we know and hitting the open ocean.” Snotlout nodded approvingly. “It’s crazy, but I can’t say I’m against it.”

“It’s not just us anymore. We have kids, spouses and families,” Heather countered, ever the impartial observer. 

“It’s a big boat, you can take anyone you want with us,” Hiccup pointed out. “Plus it’s not permanent.”

“That’s what we said about infiltrating other camps.” Eret was pacing slowly around the table. “Now look at us, we’ve helped all we can over here and now we’re taking favors for other islands?”

Astrid rolled her eyes. “Well, why wouldn’t we? There are people out there who need our help.”

“There will always be people who need help. When do we stop, when do we focus on ourselves?” Fishlegs sounded exhausted. 

“We’re only 34 years old and you already want to retire?” Snotlout’s face was scrunched up into one of disgust. 

“That’s quite old in the age of the apocalypse,” Fishlegs countered. “And besides, I’m not saying I’m against this, I just don’t think this plan is as solid as you all seem to believe.”

“False,” Hiccup said. “We just don’t believe in planning.” 

“Zephyr and Nuffink?” Heather’s green eyes lit up curiously.

Astrid sighed. “It’s a big boat. We keep base there until we can build up a small one on the island. It might be overrun with zombs, but the wolves will help with that.” 

In the last ten years the zombie population had significantly decreased on the island due to their far travels with their pack. Though it seemed the number would never reach zero, there was a noticeable difference. On other islands however, they weren’t sure what to expect. 

“And what about this place? It’s our home.” Ruff’s voice was practically a whisper and Astrid could feel the pain in her tone. 

Astrid lay a hand over hers. “This will always be our home, Ruff. But do we really stop now? Do we come back and grow crops, watch the sunset and that’s it?” It sounded nice in theory, but the truth was that it wasn’t enough excitement. Not for Astrid, not for Hiccup and definitely not for their kids. 

“We don’t want to go without all of you. This team— no this family means everything to me. If you guys are out, we’ll make it work here.” Hiccup glanced lovingly at Astrid and she felt her cheeks redden. “But we’re just not ready to give up on humanity yet.”

Ruff’s head fell into her hands. “Oh hell, you just had to go and make it about humanity, didn’t you?”

“And explosives!” He added excitedly. “Lots of zombie distraction— err recon will be needed.”

Tuffnut slammed his hands on the table harshly. “That’s it, I’m in.” 

After that a chorus of agreement rang through the group. They would pack up and leave within the month. A flutter of excitement passed through Astrid.

Eret looked toward her. 

“Ten years ago I would have never guessed we were capable of this. You, sure. But me and these knuckle heads? No way.” 

“You never did have enough faith in yourself.”

“And that never would have changed if it weren’t for you and Hiccup.” He paused, looking at the ceiling thoughtfully. “Actually I think it’s mostly your kids. It’s true that nothing boosts your ego quite like a child’s compliments.” 

Astrid gave him an evil smirk. “They’re yours and Snot’s whenever you want them. Although I’m sure if you guys are interested in adoption, there will be plenty of orphans on the next island.” 

His eyes widened. “I assure you that it is your kids specifically that give me this feeling.” 

Snotlout sauntered up then and put his arm around his boyfriend. 

“No kid could handle all this—” he raised his bicep “— all the time.”

Astrid nodded fervently. “I’m not sure how Eret does it.” 

Eret sighed and turned for the door, Snotlout’s hand in tow. “We’ll see you tomorrow for combat training?” 

“Wednesday already? I can’t wait to pay you back for that twisted ankle.” She waved the group off until it was just her and Hiccup. The kids were already upstairs asleep, unaware of the giant change that was about to come, although she had no doubt there excitement would exceed anyone else’s. 

Life was ever changing and they never knew what was around the corner. She remembered sitting at this very table, listening to Hiccup’s confession and wondering if her life would end as the result of letting him stay. That thought led her to contemplate the events of earlier that night, young and drunk against an alley wall feeling sad and confused and complete all at the same time. 

_“But what if you could go back and stop that first bite? Would you do it?”_

She looked toward Hiccup, raising an invisible glass . 

“To the next adventure?”

He tapped his hand with hers.

“As long as I’m with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to admit I’m not ready to say goodbye to these babies, I’m already considering writing some of the missions I mentioned, let me know if you guys would be interested?
> 
> This story is my baby, my very first fanfic and I literally enjoyed writing every second of it. If you stuck it out until the end— THANK YOU <3


End file.
